uber and Lyft require drivers and passengers to wear masks.
Is that a nationwide requirement? I checked on Uber’s website. Uber (not sure about Lyft) doesn’t seem to require either the driver or the passenger to wear face covering. It’s also unclear if there’s any requirement to clean the backseat, door handles, etc. after each ride.
From CNN - “Breaking quarantine could mean prison time for tourists in Hawaii”:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/hawaii-tourist-arrests-quarantine/index.html
Interesting:
Yes. Maybe it pops up when you go to book a ride.
I had to make a couple of 2+ hour drives across Southern California weeks ago. There are no rest stops for restrooms, except one in the Camp Pendleton area (which was very clean). Restrooms in gas stations, fast food pickup places, etc are locked tight. I was getting absolutely desperate and remembered that Target stores have their restrooms in front of the store, I did not want to have to walk all the way through a Home Depot, Walmart, etc.
Thank God for cell phones so I could look up closest Target, suit up, run in, touch nothing! I was not equipped with Depends or a fancy Pee Bag. Definitely going to update my trunk safety kit with the new normal?
How do you go down the hall to get ice or use the vending machines?
You don’t. You stay inside for 14 days or bust. No room cleaning. Food… you are on your own. What is the most interesting is how these folks are supposed to get from the airport to the hotel without interacting with anyone. Other than walking, there is no way.
You can arrange for a ride via cell phone app for uber, lyft or taxi. That’s not an issue. Lots of people sign all the paperwork but don’t obey quarantine when they come to HI because of very low airfares. The deal is no leaving quarantine for 14 days, period, except to go for medical care or airport.
We have single digit COVID 19 rates for over 14 days and the state wants it to stay low.
From what I read, even an Uber etc. would be a no-no.
And there are articles out today that Hawaii’s unemployment rate is too high as everyone has been laid off or furloughed with no real hope of being called back for months and months. There are also food shortages and donation shortages (for food banks).
The Hawaii quarantine rules are described here; they say to “Proceed directly from the airport to your designated quarantine location, which is the location identified and affirmed by you on the mandatory State of Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture Plants and Animals Declaration Form.”
https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/governors-office-news-release-gov-ige-orders-mandatory-14-day-quarantine-for-all-individuals-arriving-or-returning-to-the-state-of-hawai%CA%BBi/
https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20-03-21-Order-for-Self-Quarantine.pdf
Note that it has been extended to inter island travel as well as arrivals from out of state:
Yes, I read that ^^ but I can’t remember where. The food banks are running out of funds to pay their employees. The unemployment rate in HI is 34%. I wonder if the unemployed with begin to move out of state. With few flights coming in, it would be hard to get a flight out.
Since every state can do what they please, as there are basically no real Federal requirements, Hawaii is doing what it thinks best to prevent the spread of CV19. They have chosen to put public health first over their economy.
And we know that the spread of the virus raced around the world because of air travel, so it’s very wise for Hawaii to have this specific requirement for people visiting.
Other states have opened up because they are have chosen to put economic policy ahead of public health policy.
Imo, in the long run, Hawaii will likely be fine, unlike many of the states who are opening up with very lax criteria and will have to likely closed down again or close regions in their states.
One last note about air travel. My flight showed mostly empty up until the very last minute. We had 14 stand by passengers added to our flight plus another bunch more that they started calling up that weren’t even in the official stand by queue. The airline also changed the aircraft type to a smaller plane so suddenly it was a 2 x 2 instead of a 3 x 3 configuration. IMO, it makes impossible to really know the load if that’s standard practice.
^Equipment change does happen but it’s certainly not a standard practice. It may be more “standard” now than before.
Yes, even pre-covid, I know we were swapped into smaller planes so the plane would be fuller and then there was a scene because there weren’t enough 1st class seats in smaller plane and some passengers weren’t willing to sit elsewhere.
I think each state and nation is making the best decisions it can. If our state was rife with covid, we’d over run our medical capabilities and people would avoid coming here.
If we can keep infection rates low and open tourism carefully we can hopefully minimize and 2nd wave.
We are doing the best we can as a state to address unemployment and food shortages by food handouts and increasing the #s of folks processing unemployment from 7 to about 500 people.
As far as I know, there is no perfect solution—we are all doing the best we can.
Has anyone flown internationally in the last couple of weeks? Our exchange student is headed home on Sunday and was wondering how things would be for her. The agency has given her a list of recommended precautions to take. She is curious as to how her experience might be. Fortunately, she only has 1 layover, in DFW. Some of her friends had 2 or 3 layovers on their way home. (all in April)
I’m so glad I read this thread. Next week I will take a 7 hour drive with my son to move his belongings out of his college dorm. I’m a frequent bathroom user, and didn’t even realize that fast food or gas station bathrooms would be closed. Hm. Rest stops closed too? What are people doing for bathroom usage (besides the Target tip)? Maybe CVS?
Edit to my above question, looks like rest stops are open in the states I will travel through so never mind!
@TS0104, Do a google of the state(s) you are driving through regarding rest stops.