#trans pacific travel

Starting today, all restrictions on interisland travel are ending. Passengers traveling from O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i or Hawai‘i Island will no longer be required to complete a Safe Travels profile or provide proof of a pre-travel test or vaccination when traveling to other counties within the state. This only applies to travel within the State of Hawai‘i.

Governor David Ige has approved Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami’s request to rejoin the state’s Safe Travels pre-travel testing program for Trans-Pacific travel, effective April 5, 2021.

The House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness sent a proposal to Governor David Ige and the Mayors of all four counties to modify the State’s Safe Travels Hawaiʻi Program which requires travelers coming to Hawaiʻi have a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their plane.

Governor David Ige signed a 16th COVID-19 emergency proclamation requiring all transpacific travelers to have a negative test result from a trusted travel partner before their departure for the State of Hawai‘i, in order to bypass the 14-day quarantine. The new policy takes effect today, Tuesday, Nov. 24, as COVID cases surge on the mainland.

Governor David Ige announced today that starting on Nov. 24, travelers wishing to bypass the 14-day mandatory quarantine must have their COVID-19 test results – from a trusted testing partner – prior to departure for the State of Hawaiʻi.

There were 204,685 trans-Pacific and international travelers that arrived in Hawai‘I between Oct. 15 and yesterday, Nov. 8, 2020.  

Governor David Ige this morning approved Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s request for a stay-at-home, work-at-home order for the island of Oʻahu.  Mayor Caldwell said the order goes into effect at midnight 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27, and continues for two weeks. This does not impact the neighbor islands, which remain at their current levels of response.

Governor David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell met at length yesterday and have agreed that additional targeted restrictions will be needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 on O‘ahu.

Gov. David Ige held a news briefing Thursday, to address the recent COVID-19-related deaths and record number of cases reported by DOH. There were a total of 355 newly diagnosed cases on Thursday, a record single day case count since the beginning of the pandemic.

State health officials say the recent escalating disease rate may potentially require the state to resume tighter controls and restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease. Department officials say this will be especially important as Hawai‘i prepares for the opening of schools and, potentially, the welcoming of trans-Pacific travelers.

In its statement of interest, the United States claims that Hawaiʻi’s self-quarantine requirement “effectively discriminates against out-of-state residents.” Meantime, Special Assistant to the Attorney General for Hawaiʻi, Krishna Jayaram responded to the claims saying “the Governor’s Emergency Proclamation for COVID-19 and the subsequent proclamations were properly and lawfully issued pursuant to the Governor’s statutory authority and his determination that an emergency exists due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the danger and threat it poses to Hawaiʻi.”