This morning California issued a travel advisory, discouraging nonessential travel and asking residents to stay home — or in the region at the very least. Anyone arriving in California, including returning residents, should self-quarantine for 14 days. California just became the second state to top a million COVID cases — after Texas.
Some of the recent travel might’ve been to Hawaii, where tourism is essential to the economy. Last March, the state required anyone coming to Hawaii to quarantine for 14 days, which basically killed tourism. But the rule changed last month. Travelers can now come if they prove they tested negative for COVID-19 within three days of their flight.
“People [local residents] are worried they’ll [visitors] come in with a negative test and think they won’t have to wear a mask. And they’re also thinking about this history of people coming here, exploiting the islands, and then just leaving,” says Anna Purna Kambhampaty, reporter for TIME Magazine.