Starting Tuesday, November 24, be aware that a new quarantine-related policy goes into effect statewide for all passengers arriving in Hawaii. There will only be two options when this change occurs:
1. Depart for Hawaii with a confirmed negative COVID test uploaded to the state’s SafeTravels website; or
2. Expect a mandatory 14-day quarantine without exception in Hawaii.
Previously, those who had not uploaded results on arrival because they were still pending, could enter quarantine only until the negative results were uploaded. That will no longer be an option.
Beat of Hawaii: This could cause major concern for Hawaii-bound travelers, some of whom have commented that they have been unable to obtain timely test results from trusted testing partners, even when complying with all requirements. We’ve said repeatedly that a mandatory quarantine or threat thereof, will put a kibosh on interest in Hawaii vacations. This situation is especially concerning as Hawaiis trusted test partners have to contend with soaring testing needs in the middle of more COVID cases on the US mainland.
Governor Ige announced the new rules saying, “We’re taking this added safety precaution now in response to the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases on the mainland and around the world. The health of our residents and visitors is our primary concern, particularly with more people traveling to Hawaii over the holidays.” Ige said that to date nearly 50 arrivals who came without any test result later had a positive test result. “It’s not a large number, but it’s enough to change the policy.”
Also, we have heard repeatedly that Hawaii was unable to manage and appropriately track those test-pending arrivals. This policy change was needed to simplify the process and eliminate that category of arrivals who were still awaiting results.
The governor’s announcement says specifically, “If a traveler’s test results are not available before boarding their final flight segment, the traveler must quarantine for 14 days or the length of their stay, whichever is shorter.”
In good news, Ige said that the current average of new cases indicates the state has the lowest infection rate in the USA per capita.
Infighting among Hawaii gubernatorial aspirants.
At today’s press conference, Lieutenant Governor and physician Josh Green spoke to the pre-travel testing program for which he is responsible. He said that since October 15, there have been 273k passengers screened of which 243k had pre-travel test quarantine exemptions.
Green also described the pre-travel testing program as going well, while confirming his support for the upcoming change to require test results before travel. Green said, “Right now we are not seeing COVID-19 spread due to travelers, but we are continuing to monitor the situation, especially as we see cases rise on the mainland. This is why I am supportive of our team’s move to require test results before people depart for Hawaii. This will help mitigate any issues with travelers having pending test results and arriving positive.” Green noted that secondary (surveillance) testing indicates that about 16 out of every 10,0o0 arrivals with a negative pre-travel test result subsequenlty test positive.
In a separate press conference, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell attacked the state’s surveillance testing program, which provides a sampling of travelers to help determine how effective the pre-travel testing is. Caldwell discussed his desire to possibly implement a second test for arrivals to Honolulu. Second mandatory tests have been proposed by mayors throughout the islands. Caldwell said that he agreed to no secondary testing based on assurances from the state that there would be a vigorous surveillance program. He said that simply has not happened, which pointed the finger towards Lieutenant Governor Green.
Green responded, saying Caldwell “Hasn’t done anything. He has sat back and criticized rather than doing more testing.”
As you know, both Green and Caldwell are poised to run for Hawaii governor in 2022, when termed-out Governor Ige’s time is up.
Canadian Testing Program Launches
A new program is about to begin for those snowbirds traveling from Canada to Hawaii. Both Air Canada and Westjet plan to resume flights to Hawaii in December. Canadian visitors will have the same test requirements as those traveling from the US mainland. Ige said that “Many Canadians love to visit Hawai‘i during the winter months to escape the cold weather, so the timing for this works well. Hawaii has the most rigorous pre-testing program in the U.S., and we are grateful to Air Canada and WestJet for making it available to its passengers.”
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Aloha BOH,
Thanks for always keeping us up to date with all of the HI travel info. I have a question regarding the new rule. Does anyone know what happens if you get your negative results mid flight? Would that not count and you’d have to quarantine? Or does it meet the requirements? We actually went to Kauai on Oct 15th when the program first launched. While my husband received his negative results an hour before our flight, I did not receive mine until mid flight. I was able to upload the results to my Safe Travels account during the flight and everything was in good order. Does anyone happen to know if this will still be an option with the new rule?
Thanks in advance for your input!
Hi Sandy.
We just copied this response we provided earlier on the same question:
“The state’s website says, “Trans-Pacific travelers arriving WITHOUT a confirmed negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure are subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine.”
Then it says, “Beginning November 24, all travelers must have a negative test result BEFORE beginning the final leg of their trip. Anyone without a negative test result PRIOR to departure must quarantine upon arrival.
So you can interpret all that as you will. Others have reported uploading it at the airport on arrival, or even on the plane while flying. It seems highly unlikely the state will know if you uploaded it before your flight, during your flight, or upon landing.
Certainly, a bird in hand would be best by far, as you pointed out.
We’re likely to have others report in on how that worked and it will be interesting to say the least.”
Hope that helps.
Aloha.
My understanding is it has to be uploaded prior to departure. No exceptions
Why would you get on a plane without your test results upunaided? Unless you are ready to quarantine…
CareNow is American Airline’s in terminal testing partner for Covid at DFW. I don’t see this company specifically listed on the Hawaii trusted partner site, although the site does say that American has testing at DFW. I must assume that those passengers tested at DFW are being cleared by Hawaiian authorities, so the trusted partner list is incomplete or ambiguous.
So I could still be sitting next to an Asymptomatic person on a flight for several hours as long as that person quarantines for 14 days?
I’ll opt out of flying for now thankyou.
Hi Sally.
It would only be through federal government action that requiring tests for air travel could occur. Period. We have stated that many times.
Aloha.
So sad that Hawaii Liberal Democrats love to destroy the economy so they can implement Draconian Law
You are 1000% correct
We were successful in getting tested by Kaiser prior to flying to Kona from San Francisco and uploading negative test results to our Safe Travelers accounts. Not so lucky with the timing of testing in Puna on a Thursday for our flight to Maui on Saturday. Our fault since we weren’t current regarding mandates for inter-island travel. Screeners at Kahului put us into quarantine status precluding using the Hertz reservation we had. We strictly observed the quarantine as did the staff who let us into the unit we own with no key for leaving or re-entering. We failed through recommended vendors to get any groceries but thankfully got a dinner from a local restaurant which was the only food we could get in the 24 hours before our negative results came from CVS. Though we immediately uploaded these to Safe Travelers there has never been an update on our status or email with a new QPR. Instead we provided condo staff and car rental agents with the CVS test results to change our status.
Hawaiian Airlines is Now price gauging again on the Interisland flights !
This is at a travel time of 6:00 am on Monday morning flight 11/30/2020 from HNL to LIH when essential workers are the Majority of travelers at that early morning time, and trying to travel to the other islands for work. Hawaiian Airlines are allowing the algorithms to set pricing, and more than double the fare, just because there is interest at that time. The very next day, the price is back to $98 round trip.
I know this because I am one of those essential workers trying to travel
Tell Hawaiian Airlines to Stop price gouging essential workers. Stop price gouging period, anytime, for everyone. Shame on you Hawaiian Airlines. Please, Are you serious?
That’s really interest as today is November 24th?
I’ve been advised by the Safe Travels Team that ONLY facilities listed on “hawaiicovid19.com” are Trusted Partners with approved testing. My inquiry was related to the fact that Quest Diagnostics was referenced on one or two other sites as being a partner but not on hawaiicovid19.com.
Carbon which is just in Seattle and Portland has results in 36 hours or if you pay a little more 24 hours. I signed up with them.
LYNDE G…
Amusing or not, this is a real story…
You indicated how “easy” it is to change flight reservations – well, this is what happened to us when we did.
In August, we changed our January flight to late December. Two Weeks Ago (November 2) – I found out Totally By Accident, Hawaiian Air had changed our flight not to December but to September and had just noted that we hadn’t shown up for the flight! We now had No December Reservation! But we were able to get on our “usual” flight just not with our “usual” Comfort Seats!
The airlines are swamped with changes to flights and although this was perhaps one in a million, it did happen!
CVS’s Covid Testing website is now posting the following… “We cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time on the lab tests accepted by Hawaii – travelers to Hawaii should make other testing plans.”
I have no problem with this policy – if, and only if, the “trusted testing partners” can guarantee your test results in a timely fashion. Can you imagine taking several flights to get to the west coast (as we have to do from the majority of locations in the country) and then not have your results before boarding your flight over the ocean? Now what? It’s too late to change any types of reservations you have (hotel, time share, car rental, etc.) much less jump through hoops to even think about what would be needed to do regarding airline reservations! In theory, I believe this new rule is a step in the right direction – but the State of Hawaii needs to exert some pressure on their “trusted partners” to fulfill their obligation to their customers (the travelers)!
For those who have asked about Holiday Timing for testing… I’ve reached out to both Vault and Costco/Azova and after days (actually months for Vault!) have received no response. I have the same problem with 12/25 being in the middle of my test period. I will post if I get any kind of response! (Actually Azova is the only option we have in NM so I didn’t look into other Trusted Partners.)
Hi Barbara
The safe travels program isn’t perfect please understand that! The state of Hawaii is doing it’s best to keep the islands safe during a pandemic….
If the holiday travel dates are making it even more difficult to get a test and the results and you are worried about not receiving the tests in time to avoid quarantine, I’d consider taking advantage of the airlines easy change and cancelation policies to best ensure that the safe travels program works for you.
This is ridiculous. Csn anyone there make a decision and stick to it? If they keep changing the rules every week how is anyone supposed to comply? It’s going to be difficult to get a test within 72 hours and have time to get results uploaded before departure, especially if you fly out on a Monday morning. It’s amazing to me that these morons are allowed to govern.
Agree in concept but in practice, it’s just not that easy! For instance, our car rental cost would go up over $400! And yes, you can say “is $400 worth it to you” but it’s just one example of the consequences of “easy”!
DN…
In response to my comment that one should check availability for Vault in their state you posted that Vault stated they are licensed in every state (can’t find your post).
This is what I got when just now (11:36am MST 11/21)I attempted yet again to order a kit…
“We are unable to process tests for your state at this time.
Unfortunately, we are unable to process tests in your state at this time. We are working quickly to get testing available to patients in all 50 states. Click below to get an email notification when we have tests available for your state.”
Hi KBA,
No your daughter can’t test in Hawaii to avoid the quarantine. Because you are all traveling before Tuesday 11/24, as long as she tests within 72 hours from departure to the Hawaiian islands her results when revived will provide the needed quarantine expedition. Note, that if she arrives in Hawaii on Sunday without her negative results she will be required to quarantine. If her results come in after your arrival in Hawaii you can work with the state to get her out of quarantine.
At this point if UPS can’t find your daughters test, and you really want to ensure that she doesn’t have to quarantine, I’d say have her tested again. She is still with in the 72 hour window before departure.
I get you said you’ve done everything right but understand you are traveling during a global pandemic and by doing so you have to understand their are risks both medical and finically. Hopefully, this all works out for your family; however quarantining in hotel room in paradise isn’t the worst thing in the world! 😉
Still need a clarification on this but at one point I was concerned about how I read the Governor’s Proclamation last week as having to have COVID test results uploaded to Safe Travels before being able to board a flight.
Post(s) on BOH informed me that was incorrect and you just had to have a pdf to present.
However, the following was a statement this morning (11/21) in The Garden Island: On Thursday, Gov. David Ige implemented a requirement that all travelers must have their negative pre-travel COVID-19 test uploaded into the Safe Travels website prior to flying to bypass a 14-day quarantine.”
Guess we’ll see since that site is running at leas 24 hours behind which is why a pdf on a mobile device was previously(?) acceptable.
In regards to purchasing cancel any rime travel insurance, that purchase must be made within 15 days of when the initial reservation was made. Been there and tried that when we decided we needed to cancel our VRBO for this coming Feb. Unfortunately we made these reservations before COVID was ever a thing. Yes, in the future that kind of insurance may be the way to go, but it won’t be helpful to anyone who made their reservations over 2 weeks ago.
Changing rules at the last minute is not a good idea. 30 days notice is more reasonable.
We are having trouble scheduling tests with the collection partners. I researched a quest test through my health provider but i am concerned even though lab is trusted it won’t be accepted. There is no one at Quest or Hawaii travel program to call to get an answer.
Perhaps expanding collections to include licensed health providers that use approved labs.
Also if must have before travel trusted partners should guarantee test results within 24 hours of collection.
The burden of unknown factors should not be solely on the traveler. We are trying to comply with the rules but it’s being made impossible. We may cancel our 12/5 trip due to lack of testing availability. We will lose a lot of $ as Covid travel restrictions is not considered an event travel insurance covers.
Thanks Sarah for sharing your frustration about the Safe Travels program! The partner labs are done to provide a level of consistency and trust which provides a certain level of validity to the negative test results. Many labs have separate testing procedures non medical testing which is what pre-testing for Hawaii is considered. Also many insurance companies won’t pay for pre-travel testing which could be causing some of your lack of clear answer issues. I’d encourage you to explore Vault or other paid mail-in partners to ensure that you get the tests.
As someone who has participated in the Safe Travels program successfully the rules aren’t impossible and can be done with limited headache. But it isn’t the state responsibility to help you get here beyond this program it’s provided, if you want to participate in the program you need to do the work that goes into making sure that you have the results in hand before your flight takes off in December is on you! If you are willing to wait on hold for the average for 2.5 hours, you can call 18004642924 for assistance from the Hawaii Tourism bureau.
The airlines right now have really flexible change policies and I encourage if you feel that this trip during a pandemic is just to much work for the possibility of having to quarantine when you arrive then cancelling to get the travel credit and then come to the islands when the testing is easier or not required may be for the best. Hope everything works out for you.
We are a family of three traveling to the Big Island on Sunday. We took our COVID tests yesterday (Thursday) with Vault. It did take about an hour to get someone online with Zoom.
I shipped the three tests out UPS Next Day Air in the early afternoon Thursday using our UPS store. This morning (Friday) I received notification from Vault that they received two of the tests at about 10AM, my husbands and mine. My daughter, who is 7, her test never arrived! My husband and I received our test results this evening, about 6:30PM. Both negative. My daughter’s test is still in UPS limbo land and it still says it’s in transit as of 9PM. No updates. I called UPS today and no one can help. Unless I want to make a claim. I just want the test to get there! I tried calling and emailing Vault today with no response as well. My question is, if my daughter’s test never arrives at Vault, and we fly out Sunday, can she take a COVID test in Hawaii that will satisfy the quarantine condition? I’m hoping the test will arrive tomorrow and we get results for her before we leave. It’s just so nerve racking when you’ve done everything right!!! At least we’ll be there before Tuesday.
Update.. We just received results from Vault for our daughter! UPS dropped the ball obviously, but at least Vault is pretty darn fast at turning around results. And UPS tracking says her test is still in transit. Don’t count on UPS tracking.
Her test needs to be taken on mainland. Has to be PRE TRAVEL. Strongly suggest you have her take a different test today (Saturday) to have a back up after you arrive, because she (and presumably you and your husband since she is a 7 year old!) will be forced into quarantine when you arrive, at least until you receive and upload her test result.
Yes, it’s out of your control. UPS comes through most of the time, but not all of the time. Vault will not respond, or may respond several days later at best.
If you were flying on Tuesday or thereafter, the answer would be a Hard Cancel. That’s why this policy change is a big deal.
Yes….This is a HOT MESS!!! I begin to wonder if the concerns are more than the worth of the trip.
I’m not concerned about COVID as much as not having test results in the specific window, and being forced into quarantine and losing my rental car reservation.
We will be monitoring the situation closely. Our current plan is:
1) Self quarantine for 7 days before 72 hour test.
2) Take rapid test at Walgreens (concern now is looking at website for Walgreens COVID testing, it makes no mention that it is a NATT test as required by Hawaii.) Rapid test is 24 hour response. 72 hour test….yes, we have the Sunday problem as our flight leaves on Monday.
3) Self isolate from test time until Uber ride to airport. Social distance from as many people as possible until boarding. Flying Southwest, so will have to figure out the boarding process….one of the critical times is when the plane is on the ground and the air systems are not running
4) Pray like heck we don’t have an issue when we land in Kona.
5) If this all works out, drink like a fish when we land because we made it!
Not sure this is an ideal vacation?? We have a timeshare for 24 days, but still would not want any concern of a 14 day quarantine…..I mean how do you get food? Most of our grocery shopping is at Costco, and any delivery service probably can’t go there…plus we shop several stores to provision up for the length of time we are there.
Heavy sigh……and so we wait!
Walgreens does show that they do NAAT testing but be careful because the Rapid Response test is an antigen test and not acceptable the State of Hawaii. I encountered numerous “quirks” with the Walgreen’s site until I figured out it was because they don’t offer testing in my state!
There are 3 tests at Walgreens now: rapid, the longer one and antigen. The rapid test and the longer one are fine – we traveled to Hawaii using the rapid test just last week. The antigen test is the one that is not valid. Good luck!
If your Rapid Test was accepted that is fabulous news for the rest of us.
This is what I received in writing from the Safe Travels Team…
“Please inform the Walgreen’s point-of-care (POC) testing center that you require the NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test) or the equivalent PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for qualitative detection of nucleic acid from the SARS-CoV-2.
A rapid antigen test will not be accepted for quarantine exemption in the Pre-Travel Testing Program.”
That does seem to agree with our experience. I’ve emailed them again asking them to clarify that a Rapid Results test IS ACCEPTABLE as long as it is an NAAT test. That is what I asked them but their response was confusing as you can see above.
Again, The only rapid test that is NOT acceptible is the antigen test. Alot of these trusted partners have a same day Molecular PCR test that you can pay for. And if you are testing for Travel to Hawaii, these trustes partners should be able to tell you what is acceptable.