Changes are definitely still afoot here with regards to Hawaii Safe Travels and the rules that visitors and residents will need to comply with going forward. Exactly what will happen remains clear as mud as we await the direction Hawaii will head in next. That as the state reports half of all Covid cases ever occurred this month with 105k reported as of yesterday.
While there has been great hope that the state’s Covid problems will continue to plummet with Omicron declining, now that too is unclear. The health department said that the presence in Hawaii of the latest variant could either “slow down or delay the end of this surge.” Wow, and just when we thought we almost had a break coming.
New BA.2 variant now spreading in Hawaii.
The stealth omicron variant, BA.2, is now reported by Hawaii’s health department to be spreading in the islands. Lt. Gov. physician Josh Green confirmed that report, saying “we do have some cases.”
Gov. Ige sticks to boosters needed but what about Lt. Gov. Green?
Ige has not reneged on his plan to require boosters in the next few weeks. We reported recently that the change is expected to take effect on February 18, 2022. And there has been no word to contradict that although the official announcement has not been made.
Lt. Governor Josh Green, an Emergency Room physician, has made his own suggestions for Safe Travels changes. Green said that he would like to see travelers be required to either present proof of Covid boosters or proof of negative pre-travel Covid testing in addition to their primary vaccination.
Honolulu and Maui are on different paths.
Honolulu is dropping its restrictions on large indoor gatherings. Mayor Blangiardi dropped the 50% limit on indoor events effective today. And, at the same time, there are indications that there may be no booster requirement on that island going forward. Blangiardi said last week he has no plans for boosters to be part of the Safe Access Oahu program. Oahu’s change appears to conflict with Lt. Gov. Green’s suggestion we need to “avoid conditions of crowding.”
Maui’s program, effective last week, does require boosters to be considered fully vaccinated for purposes of indoor dining and drinking.
Harbinger “change agent” Israel plans to live with COVID and change rules again.
Until now, arrivals in Israel have needed to show a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of flight or a negative antigen test within 24 hours of flight. Instead, Israel is poised to require only a test on arrival.
The CEO of their national airline, El Al, just said that Israel “has made a decision to live alongside coronavirus.” He went on to say that “the Western world, as well as the World Health Organization, recognize and understand that aviation is not a cause for further morbidity and restrictions on movement… have been found to be an ineffective tool in preventing the spread of the virus.”
Would Israel’s plan work here in Hawaii or just what is needed and appropriate? We invite you to add your thoughts to the discussion.
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“When we really want to go for something better, we shall smash the old. Until then, any sort of proposal, or making proposals, is no more than a tiresome game for self-important people.” ― D. H. Lawrence
Anybody see the John Hopkins study on lockdowns, school closures, stay at home orders, business closures?
Literally a miniscule effect on Covid deaths. But a hige effect on econoy personal wealth and social ills.
I believe Isreal is on the right path. We will continue to chase the rabbit, that’s going nowhere if we try and mitigate the ever-evolving virus. Let us live along with it and get on with our lives. Keeping up with constant changes of mandates is more stressful than living with the virus that has such a high survival rate if infected.
Israel is not a series of islands 2,500 miles from the mainland!
Aloha, I feel like we need to let people be adults again. If you or your family are sick,don’t travel please. I think people will build immunity to covid just like other illnesses. If your health is compromised, do what is necessary to stay well and not spread viruses. I don’t think requiring a booster is necessary. Lets start getting back to normal! Mahalo
In California the mask mandate is so done with that even the mandator himself Gov Newsom, mayors of both LA and San Francisco, Magic Johnson and 70,000 of their closest friends all weren’t wearing masks at the NFC championship game in LA.
It’s time for all this Covid nonsense to end…no more restrictions, masking, vaccinations, boosters etc. This is a virus that we’re going to have to live with forever, it’s never going away ever. If you want to do something or go somewhere, then do it! If you feel unsafe about doing something or going somewhere, then don’t! It’s time we took back the responsibility for our own lives and live them how we want to.
Yup, it’s the new normal and I’m good with it. I’m so used to wearing a mask, that it’s no longer an issue. While it’s nice to see peoples’ full faces, as long as they learn to be more expressing their eyes, it’s fine with me. I’d rather see a mask than a ventilator on someone’s face. My biggest issue is those behind a mask also need to learn to speak more slowly and clearly, especially when there’s background noise.
There’s nothing normal about it… and it won’t last. just sayin’
RB
Making pronouncements does not change reality. This is still not the flu, not a common cold. In its two years it will have most likely killed nearly a million souls in this country alone. That’s more dead than in ww2 and the civil war combined. The great unknown is how it’s effects on long haul and damaged organs will weigh in the future. Declaring an end to ww2 in 1942 makes about as much sense. How has the Greatest Generation morphed into the Whining Generation.
From Google:
WWII: 75-80 million dead
Civil War: 620,000 dead
From worldometers.info
COVID: 5,697,360 dead
I’d say COVID death is way less than WWII+Civil war
Please read Paul. The number of dead Americans from WWII = 427,000 + Civil War = 620,000. You are correct. We are not at that number yet, but nearing 1 million.
Noticeably you did not comment on the main point of the post. Have we indeed become a nation of whiners throwing tantrums because we are asked to follow simple public health guidelines? Would our parents and grandparents of the Greatest Generation have said after two years of war, “I’m done with this war stuff?”
I think comparing war to the Covid virus is like apples and oranges. When someone dies in a war it’s very obvious, when someone dies in a hospital and they are tested for covid and it happens to come back positive then it’s listed as a Covid death. Why do you think that is. Is nobody dying of heart attacks, strokes, cancer etc.? I won’t get into politics here, but there’s definitely more to the way Covid deaths are being reported.
Though your observation may be correct, it wasn’t death so much as the toll that both war and now Covid takes on the human being. What I disdain is the comparable reaction to collective responsibility. In WW2 there was no question that “we are in this altogether” and that is everyone’s responsibility to defeat the enemy. Today warring camps argue about life-saving vaccines, wearing masks as if they are infringing on personal liberty.
My husband and I planned to visit to the Big Island the end of February through the first week of March. We have both had our two vaccines, but not the boosters and we hadn’t planned to have them. We have purchased our air tickets and made reservations for the PCR test prior to our arrival and needed to pay the $150.00 each up front. Now I am finding out that the Governor is requiring boosters to enter Hawaii? We will need to cancel this trip!!!
Aloha! Thank you for your daily updates. Folks, this is not that difficult. I am 69 years old and live most of the year in Maui and the rest in California. I have traveled back and forth several times and will return in two weeks. If you register with the Safe Travels site, you will be guided clearly on the path to clearance into the islands. Yes, things change…so has the virus. If you have a bunch of hang-ups and your “research” points you in other directions, it may be more difficult.
I’m confused about the booster. Will you only be able to enter with a vaccines and a booster, or is that just considered “fully vacinated”? Will the continue to allow entry with a negative test?
My husband and I are planning a trip to Hawaii this year. Even though we’re fully-vaxxed and boosted, we know it’s possible to be exposed on a plane and spend our vacation sick with a highly-contagious virus. We’re well over 65, which airlines are the safest for us?
Honestly, they pack you in like sardines on the plane and people remove masks to eat. The only way around it is to not go in my opinion. We went to Kauai on Alaska Airlines in November and came home fine. This new variant, Omicron infected people, boosted and fully vaccinated as you know. Seems like it was milder symptoms but depending on your health may effect folks differently. Gotta weigh the risk and reward. Hope this helps, thank you.
Folks——Hawai’i desperately needs to get its Covid act together!——This is a sad version of “Who’s on first, What’s on second and “I don’t know is on third!!!!
It seems that – from one day to the next – nobody knows what the protocol is. And, if they do, it has already changed and – what is worst – it depends whom you are listening to!
No, for my family we will stay home until you (collectively) make up your minds.
Jim E, Santa Barbara
I appreciate this email every time is arrives. I am a little unclear right now on where Kauai stands: it is my understanding they are not requiring vaccines, only a negative test. I will be coming from California. Do I have that right? Thank you for all your work here to keep us informed and up to date.
Hi Anne.
Thank you. Entry to the entire state is governed by the same rules, which at this point are either vaccination or testing, not both.
Keep in mind that you could be required to provide proof of vaccination for some restaurants. It is up to the establishment and we have encountered that.
Aloha.
“The CEO of their national airline, El Al, just said that Israel “has made a decision to live alongside coronavirus.” He went on to say that “the Western world, as well as the World Health Organization, recognize and understand that aviation is not a cause for further morbidity and restrictions on movement… have been found to be an ineffective tool in preventing the spread of the virus.”” Sounds like a smart guy, wish our own leaders were that smart.
I would assume the state still accepts approved exemptions for people who test positive for COVID within the past 90 days, correct? Making sure those rules remain unchanged to date.
They make it very difficult to plan an upcoming vacation in February.
I am curious about this as well. Has it been answered as of yet? Will the recovery of infection within 90 days allow entrance to Kauai from California?
TIA
Checkout this link – this is where we are getting our information right now.
ag.hawaii.gov/travelexemption/
No…test before flying….safest and healthiest option.
We will be traveling to Kauai on 2/15 via Honolulu from San Diego and returning 2/25 via the same route. Is there a way to add boosters to the secure Hawaii program? Will we need boosters for the return via Honolulu ?
Rich
There is currently no way to enter the boosters on the site from what I’ve read, and once on the islands anyone can travel freely.
My nephew who is unvaccinated has been on the main island for a week and all he had to do was test every 48 hours, no further restrictions (i.e. no mask wearing inside, could get in to restaurants etc). How is someone reading HI’s rules to know what is actually enforced?
On the subject of requiring boosters, I agree with the Lt Governor it could be original vac shot and negative test but no booster. My husband had a bad reaction with his original vac shot and no way will he get a booster.
For those who equate covid with “just a flu—live with it” my only thought is of
US Covid Statistics Updated Jan 31, 2022 @ 2:16pm EST
POPULATION 330,756,000 CASES: 74,590,840 TOTAL: 22.55% PER CAPITA
DEATHS: 885,103 TOTAL: 0.268% PER CAPITA
NEW CASES: 46,036,375 JANUARY 31: 61.7% GROWTH
Yesterday there were 68,071 new confirmed* cases, 0 recoveries, 1,536 deaths.
Seems worse than the flu, for which a lot of folks get vaccinated with no worries.
Please practice malama, o.k.?
To all of you who think it’s just like the flu please talk to an actual Immunologist. It far from the flu.
Here’s a viable model suggestion;
“On February one, the Public is Done!”, and the public just ignores all mandates.
Thanks for the comment space.
This is the best idea. I would vote for this!
Here’s the practice of the model;
take the mask and shove it in your pocket. If asked by any Business Employee, politely respond with, “Oh, I thought we were following the science. Okay.” Put on the mask. I give it until the end of the week before they give up policing masks.
Thanks.
Psst!
(Omicron doesn’t care about your mask or vaccination status)
“He went on to say that “the Western world, as well as the World Health Organization, recognize and understand that aviation is not a cause for further morbidity and restrictions on movement… have been found to be an ineffective tool in preventing the spread of the virus.”
Apparently Hawaii/Ig/Green are not part of the “Western world”
Maybe after 5 or 6 boosters, they’ll quietly join. HaHa I keed.
This all is totally all insane, thousands of people die every from the flu and it is never reported daily to scare and control people.
We need to wake up people.
This is just another type of flu we need go on with our lives and deal with just like we have done with the flu since 1930.
Unfortunately your source of information is incorrect, thousands of people do not die of the flu everyday. In fact part of the reason they don’t is because they get vaccinated against the flu virus, and the vaccines are modified to address the different strains every year. COVID can be addressed the same way, but it is far more deadly and contagious than the common flu.
Flu shots are based on the previous strain. Not the new one that mutates every year…hence why the flu never goes away. As far as comments regarding the flu, imagine if we tracked it as much as we have Covid? I would like to see big brother tracking on the flu to the extent Covid has been tracked before anyone debunks that observation. Reality of the situation is we have to learn to live with Covid. How many variants and how many years will it take for people to realize this?
Isreal is smart/ Covid is here to stay. Learn to live with it so you can live your life. And start accepting that there is natural immunity. I had it last summer, have not been sick since.
I really think they should request proof of vaccination and antigen tests done within 24 hrs plus continue with sanitary protocols. Face masks, social distancing, hand sanitizers etc. We all have to learn to live with this unfortunate scenario. Coronavirus and it’s variants are here to stay.
The CDC admitted that distancing was a made up number with no scientific basis behind it! And if masks and vaccines actually worked then camp chaos would have been over a long time ago except for those still living in and with fear! False Expectations About Reality!
I have been practicing what I mentioned above, and so far I have not caught COVID. I’ve travelled, I frequently go to restaurants etc. Something must be working for me, don’t you think?
MC –
I am not vaccinated, stopped wearing a badge of servitude (sorry, a mask) about 3 months after this all started, I travel, eat in restaurants and bars, have not physically distanced nor used hand sanitizers. Now, I do cover my mouth when I cough or sneeze, I wash my hands with soap and water before I eat (sometimes), I take supplements that strengthen my own immune system and I have also not caught COVID… Something must be working for me don’t you think?
Sorry, you make no sense. Good luck with your choices!
How about talking to people who have had it? It felt just like the flu in my opinion. Not as bad, actually. Everyone I know who has had it says the same 🤷♀️
What did the people that died say?
Not everyone I know. Several I know were very ill, and 4 died. Good for everyone in your circle, but it is beyond obvious so many aren’t so lucky.
You may live with these healthcare restritve policies…but please don’t force the rest if us to follow you.
Vaxed masked socially distanced transmit too
I will be traveling to the big island (Kona) on the 22nd and am unvaccinated. Will there be any changes to the requirements for me to enter? I know that I must have negative test results prior to landing in Hawaii from a trusted partner but do you foresee any changes to my circumstances for flying or indoor dinning on the big island? I hear indoor dining is per the discretion of the restaurant to require or not. Mahalo!
Hi Candi.
We don’t have further information yet but you can be sure we’ll publish whatever we learn between now and then.
Aloha.
Sorry to bother you but I want to make sure there are no surprises. Once I test negative and land in Kona, will I be asked to test again at the airport upon arrival? If so who pays for this and/or how much is it? I will be there 7 days, I understand that I will Not have to test to come home, the requirements for testing are from the state of Hawaii not the airlines or the state fo CA, correct?
Yes, correct, not airlines, not CA, just HI. I was re-tested at the airport my first entry in Nov ’20, the State paid, but no guarantee what new rules will be.
Thanks.
I live here on the big island and I am unvaccinated. You won’t have any problem eating indoors. We do it all the time. I probably wouldn’t broadcast that you aren’t vaccinated, the whole thing has really divided communities across the nation. We have, or had friends that we don’t see anymore because they’ve all drank the Kool-Aid and believe that you absolutely have to be vaccinated.
What is happening on Maui? We arrived 1/30/22 and were asked for an ID and boarding pass to get out of the airport. No concern for vaccination cards or wristbands. And, why a boarding pass after we completed our flight?
So what happens if you are “vaccinated” (had 2 shots) but aren’t eligible to receive the booster yet? My husband and I are supposed to come to Hawaii on February 26th for a week, but we aren’t even eligible to get a booster shot until late April. Are they going to let us come since our “vaccine potency” is still very strong or are we going to have to postpone our trip?
Great question, I’m in the same boat. Thanks for asking.
This information is very valuable as I travel to Hawaii at least once a year and hope to twice this year- Maui’s idea of having a booster is great- most of my age group in Western canada have both vaccinations and a booster.
Wasn’t Trudeau double-vaxxed and boosted?
Yes…I think our country needs to be living alongside of the Virus. I also think that people need to look at themselves when it comes to what they need so that they are not suffering co-morbidities. I know that some folks have autoimmune things going on and what have you, but I also believe that we need to be more responsible for things like obesity as a nation.
Teach those who can be more healthy to do so and prove to insurance companies that wellness also includes preventatives!
Hey BoH –
I keep getting differing answers to the question:
“If I’m traveling to Hawaii and I don’t get tested prior to arrival, what are the procedures?”
I think I understand that I must quarantine for 5 days, but some have told me 10 days, can you clarify this for me?
Thanks!
Hi Ross.
It changed from 10 days to 5 days. https://health.hawaii.gov/news/newsroom/doh-revises-states-isolation-quarantine-policy/
Aloha.
BoH –
Thank you! I have a follow-up… I can’t seem to find info on whether I can travel to Hawaii without getting tested, is getting tested a requirement?
Hi Ross.
The exception to either testing or vaccination is to quarantine for five days on arrival.
Aloha.