Summer vacationers weigh testing, quarantine or staying home

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Homebound travellers desperate to venture out for the first time since the pandemic are confronting a vacation landscape this summer that may require coronavirus tests for the family and even quarantines.

States from Maine to Hawaii are trying to strike a balance between containing the new coronavirus and encouraging out-of-state visitors to spend their cash on hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

The measures have gotten a thumbs-down from many in the tourism industry, who fear visitors will choose to wait things out until they can hit the beach without worrying about violating a state-imposed quarantine or searching for a testing site.

Some states like Hawaii have settled on quarantines. Maine, Alaska and Vermont have some version of a testing alternative.

In “Vacationland,” as Maine dubs itself, Democratic Governor. Janet Mills thought she was doing the tourism industry a favour by providing an alternative to the 14-day quarantine.

Visitors can skip the quarantine altogether if they can show they’ve tested negative for the virus within 72 hours before arrival.

Jeremiah Hawkins, 72, of New York, said the changes may make him rethink his August visit to the Maine coast.

He said it’s not easy to get tests, especially within a 72-hour window before arrival.

“It’s draconian,” said the retired film executive. “Why do I want to go there if no one wants me?”

Hewins, of HospitalityMaine, winces at the idea of a teenage hotel desk clerk being put in the awkward position of turning away families with reservations who’ve driven hours to vacation in the state.

He prefers the approach in neighbouring New Hampshire, which has something closer to an honour system for visitors.

Mills, the governor, said quarantines and tests are necessary to prevent an even greater calamity as the coronavirus remains a threat.

More than 2,800 people have tested positive and more than 100 people have died from COVID-19 in Maine.

Those are modest numbers compared to hard-hit states but Maine’s rural hospitals could be overwhelmed if millions of visitors arrived without any safety provisions, the governor said.

“I can think of nothing more devastating than an outbreak or resurgence of this deadly untreatable virus during the height of tourism season,” she said.

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