Resort guests will be outfitted with an electronic bracelet and put under an electronic quarantine that will monitor their movements using GPS and Bluetooth signaling. If a guest were to leave the property or tamper with the bracelet, the tracking service would alert hotel security and the Kaua‘i Police Department.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige is set to approve a voluntary “Resort Bubble” program on Kaua‘i in the hopes to bring tourism revenue back to the county, The Garden Island reported. The “Enhanced Movement Quarantine Program,” more commonly known as the “Resort Bubble,” will have safety policies to protect employees and guests all while allowing quarantined travelers to take advantage of the resort property, including pools and on-site restaurants.
“Because the virus continues to threaten our communities, we don’t know when the mandatory quarantine can be lifted,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said September 14. “As we’ve learned, this virus does not follow specific dates in the calendar, so we have to be ready to adapt and adjust.”
Guests will be outfitted with an electronic bracelet called AQUA (Active Quarantine User Ally) by the company Hub Culture, The Garden Island reported. Using geofencing technology, guests will be under an electronic quarantine that will monitor their movement on the property using GPS and Bluetooth signaling.
If a guest were to leave the property or tamper with the bracelet, the tracking service would alert hotel security and the Kaua‘i Police Department, The Garden Island reported.
Kawakami said the bubble is “not the final solution, but a tool” to bring in tourism, The Garden Island reported. Further, he said this is an “added tool, not a replacement” to the state-mandated two-week quarantine that is currently in place through the end of this month for inter-island and trans-Pacific travelers.
Kawakami said he’s “still supportive” of the quarantine and the state’s proposed pre-travel testing program that is suppose to launch October 1, The Garden Island reported. Ige told The Honolulu Star-Advertiser he expects to again delay reopening.
“At the same time, we understand the need to address the economic hardship facing our tourism-based community, while also preserving the safety of our residents,” Kawakami said.
Resort employees will also be subject to rules and guidelines, including social distancing and masks, The Garden Island reported.
Hawai‘i currently has the highest “insured unemployment rate” in the nation for the week that ended August 22, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, The Garden Island reported. This insured unemployment rate represents the number of people receiving unemployment insurance as a percentage of the labor force.
Hawai‘i’s insured unemployment rate was 20.3% for the week ending Aug. 22 was followed by Puerto Rico at 16.7% and Nevada at 16%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 13.1% in July, The Garden Island reported.
September 15, the Hawai‘i Department of Health reported 80 new positive cases in the state, The Garden Island reported. This includes one new case on Maui, two cases on Moloka‘i, seven on Hawai‘i Island and 70 on O‘ahu. Kaua‘i does not have any active cases but has five people on a close contact quarantine for a case reported on O‘ahu.
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