Hawaii program shifts quarantine requirement

If you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are planning trans-Pacific travel to Hawaii, it may be summer before you’re exempt from pretravel COVID-19 testing to skip the state’s 10-day quarantine requirement.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced the state would launch its program allowing fully vaccinated travelers to bypass its quarantine requirement for travel starting May 11. However, initially the exemption will apply only to travelers who were vaccinated in Hawaii and are traveling among islands.

The state of Hawaii has a mandatory 10-day quarantine requirement for those arriving on an island and those traveling between islands.

Since October, travelers have been able to skip that quarantine if they could show proof of a negative COVID-19 test from one of Hawaii’s trusted testing partners taken no more than 72 hours before the final leg of departure and uploaded to the state’s Safe Travels website before departure.

Hawaii pilots program with those vaccinated in Aloha State

Ige announced this month that the state would start developing a program to allow fully vaccinated travelers to skip pre-travel tests. Fully vaccinated means that travelers are traveling at least 15 days past the final dose of their shot series.

Ige said starting with Hawaii vaccinated travelers would allow the state to troubleshoot the program before implementing it more broadly.

“And, I think most importantly, learn about what kinds of bottlenecks and delays it may inject into our screening process for inter-island travel,” Ige said to reporters during a news conference.

Travelers will be able to upload a copy of their vaccination card to the Safe Travels website starting May 7. The state is able to validate those records for Hawaii vaccinated travelers through its database of vaccines administered.

Major General Ken Hara, director, for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said the state is working on a way to do that for those not vaccinated in Hawaii.

“Once the process is identified and operationalized, the state will expand the programs to include trans-Pacific/ continental United States and Alaska travelers,” Hara said. “We’re targeting summer for that.”

According to the state, 35% of Hawaii’s adult population has been vaccinated. Lt. Gov. Josh Green said the state has welcomed 2.6 million travelers since the start of the Safe Travels testing program in October. Right now, the state’s population is averaging about 80 new cases and a 1.61% positivity, a rate of infection Green said is among the lowest in the country and proof of the Safe Travels program’s effectiveness in preventing the spread of the virus.

What to know about Hawaii COVID testing requirements

Hawaii only accepts test results from trusted partners. The state offers a list of those approved labs on its website.

The island of Hawaii, sometimes referred to as the Big Island, does random antigen testing upon arrival. Around 25% of arriving passengers are administered a second antigen test upon arrival.

Those who test negative are able to skip quarantine.

Hawaii County mayor Mitch Roth said the island recently started checking who was vaccinated and allowing those travelers to skip that secondary test.

Maui is exploring similar secondary testing upon arrival. Maui Mayor Mikel Victorino said tentatively the island will begin secondary testing around May 4. He said the island also planned to exempt people who have been vaccinated from that secondary test.