New rules regarding timing of Covid tests

 Things change, so another update for you is in order.

 

Yesterday Governor Ige announced changes to the Safe Travels program that directly affect guests and owners coming to our state, and of course, Kiahuna.

 

Here is a recap of the changes that I copied from the Honolulu Star Advertiser:

 

Rule Change: Must Have Negative Test Results BEFORE Landing

This takes effect TUESDAY, November 24th.

No exceptions. If you land without negative results IN HAND, you must quarantine for 14 days or the length of your trip, whichever is less.

Here's part of the Star Advertiser release:

Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries discussed this tweak to the pre-arrivals testing program at the HTA board meeting today. He also said a formal announcement also is expected to come down adding Canada, one of Hawaii’s most important international markets, to the state’s pre-arrivals testing program, with Korea and Taiwan coming soon.

Since Oct. 15, domestic trans-Pacific “travelers who, upon entry into the state, provide written confirmation from a state-approved COVID-19 testing facility of a negative test result from a test administered to the traveler within 72 hours from the final leg of departure” have been exempt from the mandatory quarantine.

Travelers who came in with a pending test result have been allowed to get out of the quarantine once it could be verified through the state’s Safe Travels Hawaii system. However, the state quickly found itself with a backlog of pending tests. Travelers grew frustrated as they waited sometimes three to four days or more wait for a manual review. During one low point, there were more than 3,700 travelers waiting to get out of quarantine.

“Starting Tuesday if you disembark here in the islands through a trans-Pacific flight you must have a negative test uploaded, and if not, you automatically will go into a 14-day quarantine. It’s a much stricter policy that is being taken,” De Fries said.

He added, “This has been brought about by the number of people who have arrived with no test uploaded, test results pending. That segment of traveler has caused a tremendous amount of workload and a bottleneck in the system.”

Thanks to Roy Thompson for this update.