Breaking: Hawaii's Marketing Pivots To Native Hawaiians

Hawaii May End Restrictions For Vaccinated Travelers Next Week

Great news for Hawaii visitors today as Lieutenant Governor Josh Green has said that he now expects Hawaii to reach 60% fully vaccinated in as little as one week. When that happens, Hawaii will drop all COVID testing and quarantine rules for fully vaccinated US visitors, although visitors will continue to use Safe Travels.

Until then, visitors must comply with Hawaii Safe Travels by obtaining a specified COVID test from a Hawaii Trusted Partner within 72 hours of departure for Hawaii.

60% of Hawaii residents fully vaccinated within reach.

Governor David Ige announced last week that the testing requirement for vaccinated domestic travelers would end once 60% of Hawaii residents become fully vaccinated against COVID. As of Thursday, that figure stood at 56%. Ige said, “At 60% fully vaccinated, the state will accept proof of vaccination as an alternative to testing for domestic travel.”

Earlier this week, the state eased other travel requirements as all restrictions on interisland travel were dropped without regard to vaccination. Also effective this week, those vaccinated in Hawaii can enter Hawaii without further restrictions.

70% of Hawaii residents fully vaccinated is harder to estimate.

Ige said that “At 70% fully vaccinated, ALL travel restrictions will be dropped.”

Hawaii’s Emergency Management Director, Major General Kenneth Hara, said last week that he expected that 70% threshold would be achieved by mid-July. When that happens, travel to Hawaii would resume as it was before COVID.

Others in the administration, however, have indicated they believe that goal could take far longer to achieve.

New vaccine incentives.

A new incentive program recently went into effect to encourage those not yet vaccinated to get their shot to help the state achieve its goals towards reopening. It includes deals, discounts, and prizes for those vaccinated.

All Interisland travel restrictions were eliminated.

As of June 15, there will no longer be any restrictions flying between islands. That means no tests and no vaccinations are required when traveling solely between Big Island, Kauai, Maui, and Oahu.

International arrivals remain in question. 

There is almost certainly going to be a Safe Travels component that remains for international arrivals. That hasn’t been determined yet, but Hara has mentioned that it is still under consideration. The lieutenant governor said that international arrivals would “Not be greenlighted for some time.”

What about kids?

It appears that children ages 5 and up will still need to be tested for travel to Hawaii, as is currently the case.

Updated 6/17/21.

87 thoughts on “Hawaii May End Restrictions For Vaccinated Travelers Next Week”

  1. Could you please answer a couple of questions for me about the Safe Travel app? Is there one for the iPhone? Is that where I load my trip info prior to arriving in Honolulu?

    1. Hi Michael.

      The answer is yes to both of your questions. Let us know if anything else.

      Aloha.

      1. I called into tge Beat if Hawaii and they said there was no app. What do I need to show when I get off the plane in Honolulu?

  2. Not clear if the lifting of travel restrictions will apply to Canada as well? and of course, Canadians who have been vaccinated in Canada not the US.

  3. Hi !
    Would you know if the exemption to pre-travel testing for fully vaccinated travelers will apply to all passengers arriving on domestic flights regardless of their country of origin? If my flight to KOA leaves from SFO (example) would I not then need a test? Or would it still be necessary as I am not a US resident and as my first flight would originate in Canada? Would appreciate any info anyone could give me 🙂

    1. Hi Carol.

      Good question. We have not seen anything about that so far. But we expect to get more information in July.

      Aloha.

  4. According to the CDC one is not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after the second dose, or in the case of J & J, one dose. Are they defining fully vaccinated as the date of the second shot, or 2 weeks later. If its’ two weeks the date optimistically wouldn’t be until late July.

    1. At this point no. Which was my comment. The state really needs to look at allowing fully vaccinated Canadians onto the islands the same as US citizens.

  5. What about those people that have had Covid and have built natural anti-bodies to the virus? They don’t need a vaccine yet they are still being discriminated against. It’s time to open the state to ALL TRAVELERS and stop this nonesense.

    1. Exactly, and requiring proof of vaccination is a violation of your HIPPA rights. Stop the nonsense.

      1. Incorrect.

        washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/hipaa-vaccine-covid-privacy-violation/2021/05/22/f5f145ec-b9ad-11eb-a6b1-81296da0339b_story.html

      2. providing proof of your vaccination status is NOT I repeat NOT a Hippa violation.
        “is showing your vaccination status protected by Hippa?”
        No. If an individual voluntarily discloses their vaccination status to a HIPAA Covered Entity or Business Associate, the information they have provided is still protected under the HIPAA Security and privacy Rules.May 25, 2021

        What is HIPAA Law regarding Vaccine Passports?
        HIPAA law regarding vaccine passports is the same as any other proof of vaccination. Only HIPAA Covered Entities and their Business Associates are required to comply with HIPAA. Therefore, if an individual is asked for a vaccine passport by their health plan provider, the health plan provider is subject to HIPAA law. However, if an amusement park operator requests to see a vaccine passport, they are not a HIPAA Covered Entity or Business Associate and therefore not subject to HIPAA law.

        Does the same apply with regards to Negative COVID Tests and HIPAA?
        Yes. If an employer requests evidence of a negative COVID test before allowing an employee to return to work, or a university requests evidence of a negative COVID test before allowing a student to resume in-person tuition, neither is in violation of HIPAA law provided neither is a HIPAA Covered Entity nor Business Associate.

        If an Individual Discloses their Vaccination Status Voluntarily, do they Forgo HIPAA Protections?
        No. If an individual voluntarily discloses their vaccination status to a HIPAA Covered Entity or Business Associate, the information they have provided is still protected under the HIPAA Security and privacy Rules. If an individual voluntarily discloses their vaccination status to an entity not covered by HIPAA, the disclosure is not subject to HIPAA Rules.

    2. Absolutely! When I traveled to Germany, Netherlands and Iceland a month and 1/2 ago, either a vaccine or antibody test was valid. We were treated professionally and kindly until we returned home to Kauai where we were met with the National Guard and ordered to remain in our home for 10 days despite the vaccine and negative test? At some point it’s time to question the government and their ridiculous demands.

    3. “Natural immunity” is not better than the vaccine. Have you gotten your antibody levels checked? How do you know you are well protected? There have been many studies now showing that those who’ve had covid are not immune to reinfection particularly with the variants. Just ask people in India who got the Delta variant after getting having gotten an earlier strain… many of whom died. Now, the Delta variant is spreading in low vaccination areas of the US. Antibody levels in a fully vaccinated person are higher than “natural immunity” and provide more protection from variants. Get the vaccine so all of us can return to normal life!

  6. None of these updates ever includes kids under 12. We are coming with five grandkids under 12 in July. All the adults are vaccinated. What will the state expect for the kids?

    1. Anyone not vaccinated, no matter age, would have to get the test from a Trusted Partner for Safe Travels. I’m traveling in 2 weeks & all of us are vaccinated except my youngest child. If they drop the test requirement for vaccinated individuals, my child will still have to get tested. And we all still have to upload documents (vaccine record or negative test) & go through the questionnaire to get the green checkmark to be allowed to bypass quarantine.

    2. Dear John, children 5 & up will need to be tested in order to go to Hawaii. It says that right @ the end of the article

  7. While we are thrilled the state is opening up to tourism we are saddened that as Canadians ( who will be fully vaccinated as of next week ) we will not be included in the “fully vaccinated exemption”. Canadians account for a large percentage of visitors and home owners to all of the islands, but mostly Maui & Oahu. While we did not have a problem providing the negative COVID test through Safe Travels for our trip in February – April it was a stressful procedure ( not knowing until the eleventh hour that we were ok to travel with the negative test ).We hope the state fast tracks an exemption for fully vaccinated Canadians.

    1. I think at this time, everyone entering the US by air needs to provide a negative test result (see link). This would be the reason that Hawaii couldn’t lift the requirement for Canadians even if they wanted to.

      cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top