Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, June 26, 2020
Facial Recognition: Legislature appropriates $90 million for airport COVID-19 screening
By News Release @ 11:12 PM :: 3900 Views :: Law Enforcement, Tourism, COVID-19

Legislature appropriates $90 million for airport COVID-19 screening

News Release from Hawaii Senate Democratic Caucus, June 26, 2020

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Donovan Dela Cruz and House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke announced today that $90 million will be appropriated for systems at airports statewide to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The funding will be used for thermal screening systems, security protocols, web-based verification applications, traveler verification rooms, swab and testing facilities, and a service contract for ramping up testing.

This investment in airport screening protocols will help us reopen tourism in the safest possible manner, screening all travelers and verifying their pre-testing information,” said Chair Sylvia Luke. “Because the U.S. Senate has not passed the HEROES Act, we are substituting federal funding from the existing CARES Act in order to move forward with this critical priority.”

“At a recent Senate Special COVID-19 Committee meeting, Department of Health and the private labs indicated that we need to ramp up our testing capacity from 3,000 tests a day to 12,000, and possibly 15,000, tests a day,” said Chair Donovan Dela Cruz. “As the number of visitors increase, it’s important that we have enough tests for our local community and have the tests available for symptomatic passengers to help prevent the spread of the virus.”

The systems will be installed in the five major airports: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Kahului Airport, Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, Hilo International Airport, and Lihue Airport.

Thermal screening cameras will be installed at all the gates to screen passengers for elevated temperatures (above 100.4 degrees) as they disembark from the aircraft. A facial imaging tracking system and monitoring control rooms will be installed throughout the terminal to track a suspected passenger until they are intercepted for further screening. Total cost is $18.5 million.

Verification rooms will be constructed to verify arriving passenger information during their stay in the State ($5 million), and a web-based application will be developed for the departing passenger health form and arriving passenger verification information ($4 million). An additional $23 will be appropriated for labor.

Facilities will be built to perform the swabbing and testing of suspected COVID-19 passengers for $5 million. A total of $17 million will be available for service contracts for the maintenance of the thermal screening cameras and facial imaging tracking system, labor to operate the monitoring control and verification rooms, and health professionals to perform the swabbing and testing of passengers.

The measure being proposed will allow the state to reopen for all travel (interisland, domestic, and international), benefiting all residents, businesses, and the tourism industry, while minimizing the spread of COVID-19 at the five major airports.

---30---

KITV: State budget includes $90 million dollars for screening equipment and testing at major airports across the state 

HTH: $90M will be used for COVID-19 screenings at Hawaii’s airports

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii