#travel hawaii

Governor David Ige today called upon Hawaiʻi residents and visitors to delay non-essential travel through the end of October 2021 due to the recent, accelerated surge in COVID-19 cases that he said is now burdening the state’s health care facilities and resources.

The confirmed cases included: 22 on O‘ahu (+2 probable); two on Hawai‘i Island (-1 probable); two on Maui (+1 probable); one on Kaua‘i; and one in a Hawai‘i resident diagnosed while out of state.

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.

The State of Hawai‘i has added new trusted partners for its domestic transpacific and inter-county pre-travel testing programs. The state will accept COVID-19 test results from the new partners starting Nov. 17.

“We are committed to developing as broad a network of trusted tested partners as possible to administer the test. Now that the pre-travel testing program has been successfully launched, we are looking to expand the network with the goal of making it easier to safely travel to Hawai‘i,” said Gov. Ige.

Maui County saw average daily arrivals jump to 2,447 in the first four days since the state launched it’s pre-travel COVID-19 testing program on Oct. 15.  That’s up from the average daily 530 travelers logged in the 12 days prior between Oct. 3 and 14, before the reopening program took effect.

Care facility concerns were raised in June when a recent cluster of infections appeared at the Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi’s largest skilled nursing facility.  

“Samples from up to thirty individuals are pooled and tested together in a single tube using sensitive molecular biological detection methods,” explained Dr. O’Carroll. Maui Mayor Michael Victorino said he supports pre-testing before visitors leave their destination, not after arrival.

With the reopening of interisland travel next Tuesday, Governor Ige and some of his top advisors are working on components necessary before opening up travel to and from the mainland and from foreign destinations.

On Monday, April 20, a total of 444 people arrived in Hawaiʻi from out-of-state including 111 visitors and 151 residents, according to new data compiled by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. There were no flights to the neighbor islands from out-of-state yesterday.

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Hawaiian Airlines is offering reduced interisland rates starting at $68 one way for travel Mondays through Thursdays plus Saturdays.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige applauds the preclearance program, in which immigration, customs and agriculture inspections can be completed before departure from the originating country, allowing passengers to avoid additional processing or delays at domestic airports.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security intends to expand preclearance to 10 new foreign airports, including Japan’s Narita International Airport, providing greater ease of access to the Hawaiian Islands.

On Maui, visitor days increased 5.2% and total visitor expenditures increased by 4.6%, compared to March 2014. Total arrivals to the Hawaiian Islands grew 3%.

Pleasant Holidays is offering new vacation packages to Hawai‘i with reduced airfares and exclusive hotel resort offers. The travel company says its added value and reduced rates can save travelers up to $800 per day year-round on deals that include round-trip airfare.