(BIVN) – Hawaiʻi island’s congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard says anyone who travels to Hawaiʻi, including both visitors and kamaʻāina returning home, need to be self-quarantined for 14 days.

Rep. Gabbard issued a media release on Saturday, along with a video recorded statement, calling on Governor David Ige to take action in response to the unprecedented global coronavirus pandemic.

“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.”

Governor Ige has scheduled a news conference at State Capitol today at 3 p.m.