The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the position of ZU Media or APU
While it’s financially essential, tourists have proven to cause trouble during their short time here.
Hawaii heavily relies on tourism for its economy. The island I live on, Kauai, is visited due to its laid back nature and beautiful scenery. There are no freeways to cause traffic jams, no factories to pollute the air and loads of beaches for relaxing. It’s practically a paradise-themed playground everyone benefits from. Tourists enjoy their time here, and the island makes money off of the tourists.
So it was no surprise when Hawaii reopened its land to tourists, as reported by ThePointsGuy. Oct. 15 marked the date when thousands of tourists flew over to Hawaii and began a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Oct. 29 is the last day of quarantine for the tourists.
Since March, Kauai has only seen 60 COVID-19 cases via NewsBreak. Once Kauai hit 60, no cases were reported from late July onward. That is, until now.
NewBreak now reports that Kauai has seen 63 cases in total, ending our streak of no COVID-19 cases. Surely, it could be a coincidence that three new cases emerged when tourists started visiting again, right?
Not quite. The Garden Island Newspaper reported that 14 people were arrested for breaking their 14-day quarantine rules. These individuals face a year in prison with bail, and all but one have been released on bail. This brings the total of arrests for breaking quarantine laws to 132 on Kauai throughout the entire pandemic.
As incredibly frustrating as it is, I can’t say I didn’t expect behavior like this. On Aug. 17, KHON2 News reported a woman also violated quarantine rules on Kauai and was arrested.
Yes, the visiting tourists must be quarantined for 14 days and test negative for COVID-19. However, they are also spending their time in quarantine in hotels with beautiful views and pools near them. So should it really be that difficult to not break the rules?
Not only do these tourists spend two weeks unwinding in a beautiful hotel, but when their two weeks are up, they have access to all of the fun tourist attractions Kauai has to offer. They can go to beaches, eat at restaurants and shop at local farmers markets.
There are plenty of things to do on vacation on Kauai and no real need to rush. Breaking your quarantine rules either makes your waiting process even longer or sends you away from the fun.
Kauai residents have been responsible for the last two and a half months when it came to COVID-19 regulation. That’s why we haven’t had any new cases in that amount of time. Now that tourists are returning, we are expected to go back to our jobs, putting us and them at risk of getting COVID-19 when tourists break quarantine laws.
That’s why local restaurants have only been allowing Kauai residents to dine-in, according to God Save The Points. The fact that they are breaking the law by simply being outside is proof enough that the restaurant owners are right to refuse service to people not from Kauai.
I’m tired of going to my kickboxing class worried I’ll run into someone who shouldn’t be out of their hotels. I’m nervous going into Oct. 30 and beyond because now the quarantine period is over. For all I know, some of the people I’ll end up crossing paths with could have broken quarantine laws and weren’t caught.
I understand the economy needs to resume in this state. I understand that tourism is the biggest means of profit for Hawaii. But if people are going to come here with no regard for the safety and well-being of others, I would rather there be no tourists at all.
So please, if you are considering coming to Hawaii, give it another six months. I would rather not deal with more potential cases on my home island, and I would like to return to Azusa Pacific University safely with no COVID-19. If you can’t control yourself for two weeks, please just stay home.