Honolulu-bound Passenger Allowed on Flight without COVID-19 Test Results

Despite Hawaii having testing protocols in place for air passengers arriving to the islands to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of boarding, this is merely to avoid potential quarantine upon landing if indicators point to being infected with the coronavirus after deplaning.

A passenger was allowed on a United Airlines flight with a pending test result that departed Chicago and landed in Honolulu at around 1:30 pm yesterday.

During the flight, the passenger received notification upon landing that he had tested as COVID-19 positive.

The passenger informed the flight crew and was immediately taken into an isolation area in the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport upon deplaning.

Hawaii State Department of Health officials and the CDC received the alert, and the passenger was assessed by an AMR crew and through the CDC quarantine station. After the assessment, the Department of Health allowed the passenger to go directly to their place of isolation.

The Department of Health stated that other passengers that were around the infected passenger were also taken into isolation so health checks could be conducted and information taken for contact tracing.

It is not clear if all other passengers were allowed to disembark without a health check, but the Department of Health did say contact information was collected. It is also not yet known how many total passengers were onboard.

According to a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, this was an “isolated” incident, and she said it was a first for Honolulu.

The question now is, how many people may he have infected, and how may that spread?

#rebuildingtravel