If you’re planning to visit Hawaii soon, especially over any of the upcoming holidays, this news is critical. CVS which is Hawaii’s longest touted testing partner has an update and it simply is not good at all. Beyond that, the most highly rated testing for Hawaii travel from Vault Health is about to encounter some critical limitations. So read on for details and what happened to CVS.
As of today, the State of Hawaii requires that you have your COVID test negative results in hand and uploaded to the Safe Travels website before arrival in Hawaii. Otherwise, you cannot avoid a 14-day quarantine, even if test results are pending you later obtain negative results! See Important Changes to Hawaii Quarantine Rules.
That latest decision from the governor last week appears to have been made unilaterally, without consulting with the other Hawaii travel stakeholders. So it is not a surprise that it has not been met with widescale approval. As a commentor, David K. said, “The HI government is still unpredictable and inconsistent in their actions. As long as the target keeps moving, visitors can’t effectively plan a vacation to HI.”
Also see: Breaking: Kauai Proposes Complete Travel Shutdown.
Outcry Over The New Policy.
Governor Ige is being widely criticized for how these most recent changes to Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program came down. The House Speaker said it was an “Abrupt decision (that) doesn’t serve the public well.” Others including Hawaiian Airlines, the Hawaii Lodging Assn, and Bank of Hawaii all took issue with the impact this unexpected change will have on our barely breathing travel economy.
Mufi Hannemann (twice Mayor of Honolulu) said, “We really believe that if we don’t tweak in some form or fashion what is now going to be the norm to travel to Hawaii will not result in some reduction, it will result in a great reduction.”
Hawaii’s major hospital/medical provider Hawaii Pacific Health’s CEO said that the 44 travelers who subsequently tested positively should not change the current policy. He said it was “A very, very, very small percentage.” Peter Ingram of Hawaiian Air spoke about the “Narrow window” that already existed even before this change, for testing within 72 hours of departure.
CVS Says Their Testing is NOT For Hawaii Travel!
Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth. CVS updated its COVID testing website as follows:
“NOTE: We cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time on the lab tests accepted by Hawaii – travelers to Hawaii should make other testing plans.”
Going back as far as early as last spring, Lt. Governor Green was talking up their trusted testing partner CVS Health. To be honest, we were concerned from the beginning about whether that relationship would work, as we questioned CVS’ commitment to Hawaii travel, especially in light of other priorities.
The State of Hawaii COVID-19 website still shows CVS as a partner. That, even though CVS says it is not able to met the testing requirements for Hawaii travel.
Vault is Overwhelmed.
Laura (and dozens or more others have made similar comments): “I had tried to reach out to Vault through voicemails and emails and no one contacted me.” In addition, we are getting reports of Vaut tests getting lost in UPS transit, and as we approach the holidays when UPS will be busy to-the-max, we can only see that getting worse. Much worse in fact, as both UPS and FedEx warned today about possible shipping delays ahead.
Lala warns: “If use Vault, make sure you write ‘stat Hawaii’ on the inside box AND the shipping bag. Everyone in our party but 1 did that and all tests but that 1 came back in 24 hours. The final test came back 80 hours later (Monday morning) which made it invalid and led to lots of changed flight and last minute tests booked and was super stressful. Be careful!”
Will Hawaiian Airlines’ 36 Hour Testing Work?
The verdict is out but it looks promising. Even though there have been delays in the past. We remain hopeful.
Is an expensive but reliable test cheaper than the cost of last-minute cancellation of a Hawaii vacation?
If you are traveling to Hawaii and don’t want to get stuck with the go-straight-to-jail quarantine card, here’s what we can suggest based in part on your wise suggestions.
- Be sure that you can obtain an appointment for testing when you need it. Many of you have reported being unable to do so. That is even more critical when traveling over the upcoming holidays.
- Consider tests that provide nearly immediate to 48-hour results to not get caught in limbo at the last minute.
Update on Hawaii trusted testing partners’ timeframes.
1. Vault may have issues over the holidays due to potential shipping delays. Not recommended at this time.
2. Costco may have issues over the holidays due to potential shipping delays. Not recommended at this time.
3. Do not use CVS. They have already warned and we suspect they will be removed as a trusted partner. Not recommended.
4. Discovery Health. Expensive, with same-day results. Recommended.
5. GoHealth. Expensive, with 15-minute results. Recommended.
6. Atlas Genomics says results typically in 1-2 days. Not recommended.
7. Bartell Drugs. Tests not available for at least 48 hours. Limited holiday availability. Not recommended at this time.
8. Carbon Health. Next day results. Recommended. Commentor Lala said: “Use Carbon Health if testing in Seattle/Flying out with Alaska. They get you results in under 24 hours. I got mine in 12. Lots of appointments daily and last minute as of the 22nd of November. Clearly, Alaska (Airlines) wants travelers and doesn’t want testing to stop that.”
9. City Health. Results within 48 hours of specimen delivery to the lab. Not recommended at this time.
10. Clarity Lab Solutions. Results with 24 hours. Recommended.
11. Color. Limited to UAL passengers originating at SFO. Expensive. Recommended but sold out this week.
12. Kaiser. Members-only. Unclear about holiday testing availability.
13. UW Medicine. Up to 72 hours to obtain results. Not recommended.
14. Walgreens. Up to 72 hours to obtain results. Not recommended. Also, as Susan Z. said, “Walgreens is the only approved testing here and they have no available appointments.”
15. Westpac Labs. Time to obtain results not apparent.
16. Xpress Check.
17. American Airlines/CareNow and LetsGetChecked. Results from 15 minutes and up.
18. Hawaiian Airlines/USBiotek and WorkSiteLabs. Results guaranteed within 36 hours.
19. American Family Care. Time to obtain results not apparent.
Please let us know if there’s anything else you can add, as we welcome your comments.
Beat of Hawaii © photo at Shipwreck Beach Kauai.
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My wife and I are flying to Hawaii on May 21, 2021. When we checked Hawaii’s Partners, we saw CVS, which gave us several locations. When we signed up online to have our COVID Test at CVS, one of the questions the for asked is the reason. They had several selections in a dropdown box and the one we selected was “Travel to Hawaii”. We paid for the tests and had our test done on May 18, 2021 and received our results today, May 19, 2021. We have also had both Moderna vaccinations. What do we do now?
Vault Health is a total scam. I wish we had researched them prior to ordering.
There’s no customer service number to contact someone directly and they’ve yet to reply to us over 72 hours after paying for multiple test kits in advance that have yet to even be picked up by UPS according to the tracking number they provided us.
I am in Pacific Northwest (test is in Spokane, WA & I live in N. Idaho). Walgreens’ new appointments open up here at 4pm, 6pm Texas time. So they open up in TX at the same time–I know that bc we booked our daughter’s appt in TX for her.
Yes, the Walgreens has a time stamp. I heard that Walgreens might open up their new availability at midnight in TX. It is highly doubtful the PCR test from CVS will come thru for you in time. Is CVS’s rapid test the NAAT, which is what Hawaii requires? I would opt for a late test at Walgreens on the 22nd or anytime on the 23rd. The key here is finding out when those appointments open up for you. Also, FYI, if you get into Walgreen’s system, they will accept walk-up appointments at their discretion. My husband showed his boarding pass for the next day & they let him in 2 days early. His first test was positive so he had to schedule another test & the only ones open were too late. (We’ve both had covid). I hope this helps.
Wondering if anyone knows more about using Walgreens or CVS.
For Walgreens, does anyone know what time Walgreens releases availability for the rapid testing? I live in San Antonio and there is only one location here with that option and I never see any availability.
For CVS, I noticed on the CVS website that it says that their rapid test isn’t Hawaii approved, but I don’t see that on the Hawaii website. Wondering if they are just saying that to avoid too many requests for that test.
Also, does anyone know if CVS or Walgreens are time stamped. We fly out on Christmas day (our departing flight is 6:45 pm) so would love to have the option of getting the test anytime on the 22 or 23. I’m thinking if push comes to shove and we can’t get the rapid test appts we could get the CVS PCR test on the 22 (if not time stamped) and get processed in time.
Austin, I just remembered that my daughter tested at Walgreens in Dallas. Their time slots open up at 6pm Texas time.
Just following up after earlier exchange.
Submitted a Vault test on 12/9. Got back results the following day. Uploaded to Safe Hawaii site and it was automatically approved. (We dropped test results at a UPS store at about noon. Got confirmation it made it to vault about noon the next day. Test results later that day. We did write “stat Hawaii” on the package.)
Also did a test at XpresCheck at JFK. Got a printed letter after about 30 minutes, and the PDF file was available on the web within 24 hours. When I uploaded this to Safe Hawaii, it said “verification pending.”
Good luck everyone
Aloha, Bill!
Can you tell me the turn around time from placing order fir Vault test to when you actually received the test in your home? We fly to Big Island on Monday morning 12/21 and tried this morning to order Walgreens rapid tests (which were available 2 weeks ago and now they are not)…freaking out a little bit. If anyone has suggestions on where to get a rapid test on Oahu and San Francisco Bay Area, please advise…trying to meet up with my 22 yr old daughter on B.I. who I haven’t seen in 18 months. Mahalo!!!
Aloha!
Tested with Vault on Monday, 12/7/20, at noon. Mailed at 3pm same day. Received results on Tuesday, 12/8/20. Very fast, very simple. Be sure to write ‘STAT HAWAII” on outer envelope.
Mahalo
DAVID R…
The issues with Vault isn’t with Vault – it’s with the fact that UPS doesn’t deliver or pick up on certain days of the week. Plus they appear to not provide testing if you are covered under Medicare!
We have a flight on Monday at 5:10pm, if you go to the Vault Health FAQ it says to take the test Friday morning and then drop off before last air drop, but that means is more than 72h old.
I called the hotline 1-800-gohawaii to understand if this was an issue and they told me it may be. But then why they are saying you can use Vault Health? It seems if you have a late afternoon flight is a no go.
Anyone else has a sample of a Vault Health result? Does it show the a time next to the date when you took the sample?
thanks
Hi Marco.
Yes your point is clear. Others have commented that there is no time stamp on the Vault test, but not sure it is wise to trust your vacation to that. Maybe others can give us a hand.
Aloha.
We used Vault in early November. We took the tests 71 hours in advance of flight time. There was no “time” – just the calendar date – on the results email. I was concerned, but they were accepted when I uploaded. I have no idea if somehow the actual time of day was communicated by Vault to Hawaii, but I seriously doubt it.
Under the current rules, flying over on any of Monday-Wednesday using Vault any any other “ship to lab” tests is very risky. Thursday-Saturday are least risky. If you really want/need to fly on Monday, I recommend being ready to spend the extra $$$ and take the “in person results within a few minutes” test on Monday am if you can make that work.
Hi Marco,
The only thing on our Vault report was the date that the results were obtained. In my case it was at 11:37 pm and my husband’s was after midnight so we actually had reports with different dates on them even though we took them at the same time. No time stamp. We even asked our Vault representative if she was putting the time on something and we were told no. Hope that helps.
Thanks for your answers, cost is not an issue, the problem is tests availability.
Here in SF my wife can book Kaiser, but me and my daughter are left with other options.
Color 15m result is only if you fly United. Color in San Francisco has no more appointments, Carbon Health same but I see every day they add new urgent care appointments for next day, so maybe coming close to the 72h we can try again. City Health at Oakland has random spots coming up, but you need to refresh the page dozens of times.
At this point getting tested twice seems the best option, but I feel horrible to get tests that other people may need.
I wish Southwest would’ve partnered with some lab and had a dedicated spot for each traveler like United does, that seems more a serious approach to me.
Any Southwest traveler here?
Marco
FYI Everyone… This email is manned by individuals who work 7 days a week. (I think they work from home.) But bottom line is they are actually HUMAN – I had a fabulous and fascinating 5 back and forth conversations with one of them last Sunday! You will get actual answers not canned responses.
[email protected]
Thank you for reviewing my question. We are going to use Go Health..Here in Oregon. Are all the trusted partners for Hawaii CILA certified Thank you .
I have had a trip planned for a year (for my Mom’s 90th birthday). Her heart is set on the trip, despite the risks. She’s been trapped in assisted living for nearly a year, and this is the one thing she’s been holding onto. Cancelling will be a blow to her, so we’re trying to make it happen.
We’re located in Pennsylvania and I have explored every option, but despite what the State and company websites say… on the east coast rapid testing is nearly impossible to get.
My best bet looked like GoHealth in NY and Delaware. Delaware informed me that the GoHealth site mistakenly included them. They do not have rapid testing. Then I tried NY, but the sites I call will not promise access to a rapid test due to limited quantities. I have to just show up, and hope they have one. That’s a big risk since I have to drive 5 hours to get to the closest one.
Thanks to one of the comments here, I found XpresCheck. They are booked in Newark airport, but I got appointments at JFK. I’ll call them tomorrow to confirm that the test is truly a Hawaii approved rapid test. If so, we’ll drive 5 hours one way for a test, then drive back.
If they can’t confirm, I think we’ll be cancelling.
I truly appreciate the tough spot the State of Hawaii is in. They want to find the right balance between public health and economic recovery. I’m glad I’m not the governor. All I can say is… the current program is a mess from the traveler’s perspective. I wish them luck as they try to evolve it.
BILL…
For what it’s worth, this is the email I received from The Safe Travels Team as our only viable option is to go to Phoenix a few days in advance of our flight and use XpresCheck at the Phoenix Airport (one of the only 4 XpresCheck services, the others being Boston, JFK and Newark)…. (Just make sure to get one of the tests they offer that is NOT an antigen test which is not acceptable to the State of Hawaii.)
Aloha Barbara,
Yes I still see XpresCheck as a trusted travel partner on our website (below).
hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/
Mahalo,
Safe Travels Team
This is their email if you want to ask more questions…[email protected]. XpresCheck has only been a Trusted Partner since 11/20/20 so some of the websites don’t list them yet but the Hawaii Covid19 site does.
Another option for Bill: you could fly to Portland Oregon and have a long layover. Go outside the airport to the express testing site. Then get tested, await the results which should come in an hour. Then upload the results and resume your flight. I totally sympathize with your situation with your aging parent. My mother-in-law is 89 and in assisted-living. She actually got Covid in August. It was a huge blessing, however, because she came to live with us and she got out of the AL lockdown as a result. She had almost no symptoms and we didn’t catch it from her either. She is now immune and we can visit her without worries, if they’ll let us in. We have subsequently had Covid also with no ill effects.
Thanks, Leann. The risk with that plan is that, if, God forbid, we test positive in Portland, then we’re stuck there with no friends or family near by. Risk may be small, but it would be terrible for us if it happened.
Bill, you are correct–the risk of a false positive is absolutely not small. It happened to my husband with Vault. We took 2 tests because we didn’t know which would be faster…Vault and Walgreens. Vault results arrived in a day and a half, Walgreens arrived in 4 days. Vault said positive and Walgreens said negative. He had to take a third test to find out he was actually not COVID positive but by that time we had to cancel our trip.
We used the testing site outside of Alaska Air in Portland. Tested on a Monday at 12 and gag results 3 hours later.
XpresCheck at Newark, NJ airport (EWR) allowed us to make an appointment weeks in advance (12/18 for our flight 12/21), and verbally confirmed they offer the NAAT test accepted by Hawaii in which results will return in 1-2 hours.
GRAY B…
Thanks for that post. We have no alternative but to travel to Phoenix three days in advance of our flight and use XpresCheck at the Phx Airport. (Long boring story short…there are no Rapid Results sites in our state and Vault will not test us as we have Medicare. Don’t trust Costco/Azova as they don’t work weekends and we are flying on a Wednesday.) And yes, they allowed us in late November to make reservations for January 4. Good to know they are real – their phone number in Phoenix never answers and has no voice mail – email to them yields no response.
Barbara, be careful of that plan. If you get a positive result (either legitimate or false positive) you will be stuck in Phoenix.
SM…
I now you responded with caring but here are the circumstances…
Walgreen’s never has any appointments available and does not do Rapid Testing anywhere in our state so we only have a one day window and if we can’t get an appointment that day, we’re cooked. (They only have 2 testing locations in our metro area of 850,000+)…. CVS is out of the running… Vault won’t test us because we are on Medicare… Costco/Azova only works 5 days a week and won’t guarantee response in a 72 hour window. And those are the only Trusted Partner options we have locally.
You wouldn’t have known this when you posted but we drive 6 1/2 hours to Phoenix in our own car so if we do get a positive, we just turn around and go home. Obviously if either or us has symptoms, we won’t have start the journey to start with. We can’t test here if it’s for travel. You can only get tested using insurance is you have symptoms and/or direct exposure. We’re thinking of being tested earlier that week at a not-Trusted-Partner site just to make sure – many folks are doing that.
Barbara, I just checked the XpresCheck site. They do not offer the rapid test in Phoenix. If that’s who you are planning on using, you’ll need to find someone else.
http://www.xprescheck.com
Sorry, Bill.
12 of us family members and friends arrived on Maui over this weekend. We used various airlines and none required proof of a negative test to board the aircraft. However on Alaska airlines they asked every person if we had uploaded our test and received our QR code. I don’t think you can upload your QR code once you are on the islands. The wait to get through the QR code process on Maui was two minutes long. You then have to have the pink slip they issue you to rent a car and to check into your hotel. Although there are signs everywhere that masks are required, we have only experienced that in grocery stores and retail outlets. In restaurants you have to wear a mask until you get to your table and then you can take it off. Although it is against the law to appear in public without a mask, You are not forced to wear a Mask on the beach or when you’re out walking and you are social distancing. However you may get a ticket but we haven’t seen any of that here. Also, among our party of 12, 2 initially tested positive, but since both had had Covid and knew they had the antibodies, they got retested and tested negative the second time. That was a bit stressful as we all waited for their second test results. So know that there are some faults positives out there.
Hello,
We booked travel to Maui and Kauai (since cancelled Kauai) back in April departing over the holidays. We are planning to begin a strict quarantine next week all the way through our departure on Dec. 25. Finding an approved testing partner (we live in MN) with a turn around time of 72 hours has been extremely time consuming, stressful and seemingly impossible. We have two options we’ll try and not sure those will even work.
On top of myself and many others already rerouting vacations (or cancelling) due to the Kauai closure, doubt whether we will make it into into the islands in time due testing, and the sands shifting on the Safe Travelers program daily, I advocate that government officials quickly decide on the best approach that effectively balances safety and convenience. Many travelers/residents are in limbo and stressed during an already stressful time.
We are happy to take multiple tests and quarantine (on the mainland only), but are coming to enjoy a respite and vacation, not quarantine. And, we are paying dearly for that time. We also want to visit many local restaurants and attractions while strictly adhering to COVID guidelines. We will also quarantine when we get back to the mainland.
I believe this small snippet reflects the story of many and would like again advocate a much better Safe Travelers process for visitors and residents, one that certainly includes a 96 hour testing window.
Thank you,
Melissa
Hi Melissa.
Thanks for your comment. We are awaiting an update regarding the proposal for 96-hour testing.
Aloha.
MELISSA>>>
I completely understand your angst and concern but in case this helps… Depending on what airport you fly out of, you might be able to get tested at that airport if you arrive a day or so early. For instance, we live in New Mexico and fly out of Phoenix. Xprescheck.com allowed us to make testing reservations over a month in advance. We’re going to Phoenix two days early to make sure nothing goes wrong and to get those tests. We have the same situation – there is not a facility in NM that does Rapid Results testing! You probably have a long layover anyway – use it to get tested.
It seems that Walgreens is now adding the Hawaii-approved NOW ID covid test at additional sites. On the Walgreen’s website, this is the test marked by a red dot on their maps. This is the only test one can use both because it is approved by Hawaii & b/c the results are returned to you within 2-3 hours. Also, if you register at the Walgreen’s site for a test & you go early because you have a flight departing in the next couple of days, they will often take walk-ins under those circumstances. They did that for my husband when he first tested positive (knew it was false) & then the next day he went back without an appt & they tested him & it came back negative. Keep checking your Walgreens’ site if you have a Walgreens in your area. Maybe yours will add the NOW ID test as well. Note: You need to sign up for an appt on the Walgreen’s site 4 days prior to when you want the test. The sign-up refreshes once a day–here it is at 4pm PST.
Leeann – where are you? Just wondering about the 4 pm…
Hi Melissa – I am leaving to MN on the 12th and have experienced days of research to only fine a few options (CVS/Walgreens) that don’t guarantee the required turnaround. Wanted to understand which option you went with? Would love to compare notes. We fly via LAX but with a 2 hour layover so that’s not an option.
We have tests scheduled on Friday; 2 with Vault, 1 with Kaiser. They keep assuring us we will have results on Sunday which we can print out. If they have not arrived, we assumed they would arrive Monday but after our flight leaves at 7 a.m. We do not want to cancel but now the new rule says Hawaii will not accept negative results post arrival. Another updates says we will be tested at our expense upon arrival if no hard copy in hand. We are going to have to proceed with our plan to arrive on Monday and hope that the daily updates in pre-testing match what we are able to provide to Hawaii. Any input on how it really works would be appreciated.
Hi Marsha.
You need to have negative test results when you arrive. Otherwise, there are no tests on arrival will spare you from the quarantine.
Aloha.
BOH…
Apologies if I should know this but don’t you have to have negative results in hand in order to even get on a plane – or is that only Hawaiian Airlines? And as far as having negative tests in hand upon arrival, I thought that was superseded by the requirement for pre-flight negative test. And so it goes!!!
Hi Barbara.
How’s it going? Others report the airlines don’t even ask.
Aloha.
American didn’t check when we left out of PHX to KOA on Sunday.
BOH:
There is intelligence to “err on the side of caution” and have your test results in hand but that is bizarre! Wasn’t that the whole hoopla last week and prior – that you had to have your results in hand pre-flight!?!?! They made a big deal out of “what happens if your test results come in while you are on the plane” and the answer was “no good”! I really am losing it!!! (And it’s going well – we leave for Phoenix on 01/03, test at Xprescheck at the Phx airport on 01/04 and fly out 8:00am on 01/06 (Xprescheck in Phx is not open on Tuesday/Wednesday.) We’ll be staying 2 nights at our timeshare (using Marriott points) in Scottsdale, visiting our favorite Bearded Dragon (the resort pet) and hanging out at “26” across the street at the JW Marriott and seeing our favorite bartenders. So for us it’s not going to be painful but it is an unnecessary nuisance! We’ve given up on Kauai – if Mayor changes things it will most likely be on the first of the month and we just didn’t want to have to change everything in 3 days. We’ll be on Oahu so email me any really cool suggestions you have – (North Shore 3 nights, Ko’alina 7 nights, Sheraton Waikiki 3 nights.) On the North Short, we’ll be drinking at Turtle Bay (not staying there, too $$$.) At Ko’alina we want to explore the west side after I do my obligatory visit to Mailie, Hawaii Cookie Company and buy my Koloa Rum. Sheraton – sunsets!
My Koloa Coffee Rum!!!
Hi Barbara.
As far as we can tell from others’ reports, no one (except perhaps Hawaiian) is checking for test results until you arrive in Hawaii. It seems foolish to depart from the mainland hoping they’ll arrive mid-flight however.
Aloha.
Just curious Barbara, where did you hear Hawaiian “requires” a test to board??? Friends just flew from PHX and it wasn’t required and about three weeks ago I visited SEA and no test required to board…..typical Hawaiian flight, on time, authentic Hawaiian service, A330 seating with everyone well spread out, etc etc….but no test required.
Btw I took the Discovery Health route in Seattle for testing and it was very easy. That said there are now a lot more options and the price is better at all the HA gateway cities (I just looked at their website)
Good luck, near as I can tell our Covid numbers are not exploding due to the soft opening of tourism, hopefully the travel options will get better soon.
Again, HA has it dialed the best from my perspective and it makes sense, they are the only airline that is singularly focused on Hawaii
Anyone in California should know that LabCorp and Quest are also valid labs. Go to the Safe Travel Registration site where you upload your results, even if you don’t have them. You will see a bunch of options to choose from, and you will not see some options that are listed on the Accepted Labs. This is a complete joke. I had to use WestPac through ExerUrgent care and they could not guarantee results in 72 hours. Then I waited and waited but never got notified. Luckily I found a way to log into the Exer Urgent Care site and my results were sitting there. The United States at it’s worse (which is it’s best)
Just saw CDC’s new quarantine guidelines of 7-10 days – will this change the Kauai rules do you think?
CVS should have informed its customers that they pulled out of Hawaii testing! On the 11/21 when I booked online the site stated for Hawaii travel! I booked my family to test on 11/23 AM since our flight was on 11/26! When we arrived at the drive up window showed our ID, confirmation # we told the assistant we were testing for our Hi trip. She said nothing about CVS pulling out the day before! Only two places near us that we could go for the PCR test was CVS ($139/ person) & Walgreens ($129/person) did not have any appointment!
How do I test with Hawaii airlines ?
We used City Health at the Oakland Airport site. Make an appointment online and then send them a message via messenger requesting a date change. They made adjustments for our 72 hour window. There is a fee for results within 8-10hours. I was pleasantly surprised by this as I did not see an 8-10 hour result advertised on their website. God Bless! Stay Safe, Stay Healthy!
Aloha from Kauai (arrived last night, Nov 27) Be Sure to keep your smart phone handy throughout the process in HI, from deboarding at the airport through checkpoints there – on to the Rental Car company (at least Alamo), to checkin at your resort or hotel. Beyond the QR code, each party wants to see your SAFETRAVELS progress to include inputs confirming that you cleared the airport checkpoints and are complying with the State of HI via SAFE TRAVELS. Just keep that App/website open on your phone for everybody to see.
Good advice. But, expires at the end of this Tuesday. Today is “last call” for attempting pre-travel test to avoid quarantine on Kauai. If you’re not a returning resident, pick a different island. Better yet, pick a different state or country.
How do I get tested with Hawaii airlines ?
Aloha Guys,
WorkSiteLabs, was only operating out of SF, when I left to come here on the 17th. It was $90, and I had to travel the better part of a day to do it, but results were emailed to me at about 30 hours, and like you said they guaranteed within 36 hours. If HAL can get more sites near all west coast departure locations, it would guarantee alot more bookings, in my opinion. However, if flying out of the Bay Area or LA, WorkSiteLabs is recommended.
It was necessary for me, because I have property here. However, if I’m forced to spend a day traveling just to get a test, for a vacation that I’m going to spend thousands on, then I’m going elsewhere, to be honest.
My wife, decided she didn’t want to deal with a quarantine, since she would only get 2 weeks max here in Hawaii, so we chose another destination for 2020.
If things don’t get better, early next year, we may not come for her vacation at the end of May in 2021. Of course I’ll be back, because of necessity. But our vacation money will not be spent here, which is the case for several million vacationers in 2020, and likely 2021, at least the first part of the year.
This Government better get off the rollercoaster ride that’s bankrupting and killing businesses, for a disease with a death rate that’s been on the decline since early summer.
Mahalo, Jeff and Rob, and I hope your Thanksgiving was well too, I saw your note on the other thread. 😃
Hi Jim.
We’ll see you when you get here. Whenever that is. Thanks.
Aloha.
Thank you for this article! Long story short, I had to travel recently, finding a State approved testing place was stressful. I got lucky and got an appointment with GO Health the night before I had to come back to Hawaii. I did the 15 min test and paid $75. They were great! Extremely accommodating and did everything they could to make sure I had what I needed. I followed all the directions in the State website, got my QR code and when I landed I was told Go Health didn’t use the form with our State seal so my test result wouldn’t be accepted. After several phone calls to the dept of health my paper work was accepted. I appreciate what our state is trying to do just not the way they are going about it.
Twelve of us (8 are my immediate family) are all testing at various Walgreen’s around the country & we are only using the NOW ID test bc it guarantees results in 24 hours. The turnaround time has been less than 2 hours from testing appt to getting results! I would highly recommend Walgreen’s if they are in your area. The caveat is that you have to make your appointment online 4 days in advance (but they might make an exception of you show them your boarding pass for tomorrow!). The next blank appt day opens up at 4pm PST each day. I did a lot research to discover all of this & so I am passing it on to those who might find it useful. So far 7 of us have tested negative. (One person did have to test twice to get a negative. We knew he had to be negative because he had also taken an antibody test which was positive, & you can’t get it twice within 2 months!). Awaiting 5 more results after today.
Thanks Leeann, this is very helpful information.
I hope you have a wonderful visit.
LC
LEEANN…
Interesting that your Walgreens experience has been totally different than mine. Here Walgreens only allows you to make an appointment 3 days in advance and you have to be on the site at 12:01am to beat out everyone else in getting an appointment. It almost appears that Walgreens operates differently state to state.
Hawaii’s Trusted Testing and Travel Partner, Kaiser Permanente, failed to provide Covid-19 test results within 72 hours of test collection.
For my families vacation to Oahu on 11/26/20, my wife and I completed out COVID test at 8:30 am on 11/23/20. We did not receive our test results by our flight departure time and the vacation was cancelled. We received our test results from Kaiser at 5:54 am on 11/27/20, 1 day too late.
Hawaii should reconsider calling Kaiser Permanente a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner.
Which Kaiser?
Kaiser North California – South Sacramento Lab
I live in Michigan. Where can I get tested to have my results back in time?
My Kaiser test was returned in 6 days! I wouldn’t recommend using them for Hawaii.
Which Kaiser?
here is a comment that i left for lt. gov josh green on a facebook page and of course i have not heard anything back.
here’s a question for josh….if the state does not have the manpower to clear verify the negative covid tests after their arrival into hawaii, how do they have the manpower to check that all these folks coming onto the island are quarantining for the 14 days??? this question relates to the change that is going into effect on tuesday nov. 24. understand that passengers that fly into hawaii and get the covid test within the 72 hour window are at the mercy of the lab processing their test within that window. for example, i am leaving chicago on dec 3 at 9:10am CST for honolulu. i will be getting my covid test at 11:00am EST on nov 30. this is within the 72 hour window. the test gets gets send from walgreens on the evening of nov 30 via overnight to the lab. when that lab sends me my email about my test result will be based on how busy they are. i did what i was supposed to do. again, if the state does not have the manpower to release folks that have sent their PDF file with their negative test result, that was done within the 72 hour window before arrival into honolulu, and now they will have to be quarantined because they did not get their test result by arrival time, how do they have the manpower to monitor the folks that are quarantining????? thanks.
Hi Bob! Chicago here, too! We went to the Des Plaines Walgreens to get the rapid test, this morning – 8:15 and 8:30 appointments for my husband and I, respectively. Our results were in our email within an hour. If you can, check the Walgreens site at 6pm central time and try to get into one of the “red dot options” because they’re rapid. You should be able to find a time for Tuesday at 6pm, tonight, if I did my calculation correctly. We booked, for today, on Monday at 6pm – that’s when they open up slots. Des Plaines, Bolingbrook and the Walgreens on Mobile offer this test.
I sought this out when the governor changed the requirement to have it uploaded or in hand, last week. We were going to do Vault but were anxious that the result wouldn’t arrive in time. Unfortunately, we are now out that $300. But, that’s totally a first world problem during a pandemic.
We are quarantining and doing all the right things between our test through arrival in Hawaii for our escape.
Good luck!
The answer is there are not enough workers to enforce quarantine. Hotel workers or residents in neighborhoods report violators. There is also a facebook group, Hawaiʻi quarantine kapu breakers, searching social media for posted photos showing quarantine violations.
Phone calls are made and text messages sent to people in quarantine. Agents from the attorney general’s office also make random compliance checks, but those are only a few every week.
Dear David B:
Bob’s question (I think) is “why can’t people whose test results come in after arrival be released from quarantine?” You answer, paraphrasing, “because state doesn’t have resources to enforce quarantine, and they rely on hotel employees and neighborhood Carens. Hmmm. Seems like less unnecessary quarantine would help solve that problem.
Sincerely, David B
Was answering Bob’s question “how do they have the manpower to check that all these folks coming onto the island are quarantining for the 14 days?”
My answer was that they don’t.
Aloha Bob, this has been my family experience. We got our results after arrival. All negative but since it posted after we arrived we got stuck in quarantine! So the Scanners at the airport made us sign a 14 day quarantine, called our hotel & condo told them we were to be in quarantine( some hotels are not accepting reservations other hotels have designated floors for quarantine people they give you a one time use key for the elevator & your room, you can not rent a car but can take Lyft, taxi, bus or shuttle, no room service, no microwave in room, no one will enter your room, limited number of restaurants will deliver so you are stuck w insta cart who charges x4 more for food and locked like a prisoner in you hotel/condo. You can only leave your room for medical treatment or ck out, if you leave and get locked out or caught outside your room they will call the cops on you! $5,000 fine & 1yr in prison!
The Paridase that I knew and loved about Hi when I attended U of H, Oahu. I wanted to share that with my family. Unfortunately, this trip has now become a nightmare! My family has only seen the airport, view of the Ocean on the drive to the hotel/condo. Not what we were expecting at all! I did spend thousands of dollars to be treated like a prisoner! Mine you we all tested Negative!
I wish I knew how to say “I’m so sorry” in Hawaiian because you deserve that additional “hug”!