Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Calls For 14-Day Self-Quarantine Of Arriving Travelers & Returning Residents

In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) is calling upon Governor David Ige to immediately institute a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine of anyone who travels to Hawaiʻi, including both visitors and kamaʻāina returning home.

“The governor of California is predicting that they’ll have 25 million cases of coronavirus in the state of California alone within the next 8 weeks. That’s over 60% of California’s population. As we look at how to prevent visitors from bringing the coronavirus to Hawaiʻi, it’s not enough to just encourage people not to come to Hawaiʻi. It also doesn’t do much good to take people’s temperatures when they get here because people can be asymptomatic and be spreading the disease,” said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

“While Governor Ige does not have the power to suspend flights, I’m calling on the Governor to immediately institute a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine of anyone who travels to Hawaiʻi. This is what is already being done in countries around the world — like Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and China’s capital city Beijing. Visitors will be monitored to make sure that they are adhering to the quarantine. If they are residents, then they will be in house quarantine, separate from their relatives or others who are in the home. And if they are visitors, they’ll be quarantined in their hotel room. This is an absolute necessity, and it will be a tremendous help in saving lives here in Hawaiʻi.”

Background: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been working in Washington and home in Hawaiʻi to assess the community’s needs during the coronavirus pandemic, and work to secure the resources necessary to deliver those needs.

This week, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Lt. Gov. Josh Green hosted a telephone town hall with over 10,000 participants, updating constituents on efforts by Congress and the Federal government to respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, including a critical look at the successes and failures of Federal departments and agencies in the first weeks of the crisis. They also fielded questions ranging from testing and quarantine protocols to the impact on small businesses and efforts being made to secure the needed medical supplies to diagnose, treat, and care for Hawaii’s residents.

On March 14, 2020, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted to pass H.R.6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the most recent emergency bill to provide resources to respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. This bill included provisions providing for free COVID-19 testing, two weeks of paid sick leave, up to three months paid family and medical leave, and unemployment insurance for furloughed workers. It also expands food security for those who rely on food stamps, student meals, senior nutrition plans, and food banks as well as increasing federal Medicaid funds for local, state, tribal and territorial governments and health systems.

On March 12, 2020, she introduced H.Res. 897, the first legislation offered in Congress that would provide an emergency non-taxable Universal Basic Payment until COVID-19 no longer presents a public health emergency. The Universal Basic Payment — of $1,000 per month to all adult Americans — would be a temporary, direct benefit to help Americans cover the healthcare costs incurred because of and protect their financial security from the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis.

She previously voted to pass legislation that will provide emergency funds to address the novel coronavirus. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has called on the Trump Administration to suspend flights from South Korea and Japan given the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in these countries, until they can guarantee all passengers will be tested prior to boarding flights to the United States.

In order to ensure that any treatment developed for COVID-19 is accessible and affordable, Rep. Gabbard joined a letter to President Trump demanding that pharmaceutical companies are not issued exclusive licenses for the production of such treatments or capitalize on drugs that have been funded by taxpayer dollars.

Rep. Gabbard also wrote to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar calling for clear guidelines for state and local governments to receive federal reimbursement for the costs they are incurring as part of their response to this public health crisis.