How This Doctor Is Influencing Hawaii’s Response To COVID-19… A Honolulu doctor critical of the state’s pre-travel testing program is gaining traction with policymakers.
When Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami opted out of the state’s COVID-19 testing program for out-of-state travelers, his decision, which was later approved by Gov. David Ige, was guided in part by an emergency medicine physician who has long rejected the central idea behind the program.
Dr. Darragh O’Carroll and others who are part of an informal group have been speaking out against the idea of requiring only one test for people traveling to Hawaii since before the pre-travel testing program launched on Oct. 15.
Now, despite data that shows O’Carroll’s earlier prediction that the number of cases would have spiked by now simply didn’t come true, his calls are getting political traction.
