The three most important states to Hawaii travel are at this point “recommending” that their residents avoid all out of state travel at this time. That comes almost simultaneously with Hawaii’s announcement of a wide range of new trusted testing options for both adults and children.
The governors of California, Oregon and Washington are also recommending that those returning from Hawaii and elsewhere self-quarantine for 14 days. Washington Governor Jay Inslee said, “COVID-19 cases have doubled in Washington over the past two weeks… Limiting and reducing travel is one way to reduce further spread of the disease.”
This is obviously a challenging time to travel. Here on Kauai, we have started seeing things get busy again. Mainland folks are here and their presence is felt. At the same time, cases are skyrocketing and the implications both here in Hawaii and on the mainland, are unclear.
What are your thoughts about traveling? Are you wanting to get on a plane or wait it out?
Hawaii announces a plethora of new testing options.
Test results from the new partners will become accepted beginning November 17.
Partners were selected following their application to the state. Each demonstrated an ability to “administer the test and expand the testing network, with the goal of making it easier to safely travel to Hawaii.” — State of Hawaii.
New trans-Pacific testing trusted partners.
For the complete list of trusted partners for both mainland and interisland travel, see the state’s Safe Travels website.
Visitors age 5 and above are required to take a “COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a trusted testing partner.” Tests are taken within 72 hours of the final leg of travel between the mainland and Hawaii. Negative results are uploaded to the Safe Travels website or presented on arrival.
When test results aren’t yet available on arrival, currently, travelers must quarantine until negative results are confirmed. As you know, the state may change that rule such that you must have results before traveling. When arriving without test results, the only option could be the 14-day quarantine. More on that as we obtain further information.
As of November 17, there are 11 additional partners who have been approved. They are as follows:
American Family Care.
American Family Care (AFC) – More than 200 AFC locations nationwide are confirmed Trusted Testing Partners with the State of Hawaii. All travelers ages five and up are able to visit their local AFC location, no more than 72 hours before their flight departure time in compliance with travel requirements, for a pre-travel COVID-19 test. A printed version of test results will be provided to the traveler(s) prior to leaving the AFC center. Click Here for more information.
American Samoa Department of Health.
The American Samoa Department of Health Clinical Laboratory is a CLIA-certified moderate complexity testing laboratory situated at the Tafuna Health Center Clinic. It provides necessary clinical laboratory testing services for the people of American Samoa, including the FDA-authorized Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) test required for passengers to participate in the State of Hawaiʻi’s pre-travel testing program. The AS-DOH website is https://www.americansamoa.gov/department-of-public-health.
Atlas Genomics
Atlas Genomics is a CLIA-certified, high complexity molecular diagnostics laboratory based in Seattle, WA. We are dedicated to providing our clients with premium quality service and timely results, both locally and across the nation. Travelers on their way to Hawaiʻi may schedule testing through our convenient online portal and visit one of our five Seattle area locations for sample collection. Expedited same-day results are available for those travelers utilizing our Renton or Bellevue locations. For additional information or to schedule a test, please visit: https://www.atlas-genomics.com.
Capstone Clinic.
Capstone Clinic is eager to offer pre-travel testing to the residents of the State of Alaska in preparation for their visit to the Aloha State. Capstone has six full-service health care facility locations on Alaska’s road system and at the Ted Stevens International Airport and numerous regional airports statewide. Capstone has over 250 employees and has performed over 125,000 COVID tests. For information visit: https://www.capstoneclinic.com/project/covid19-testing/.
Clarity Lab Solutions
Clarity Lab Solutions as Clarity Mobile Ventures (“CMV”), are supplying a COVID-19 testing and clinical laboratory facility at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). This lab and test collection station will be located across from terminal 6 and will provide COVID-19 testing solutions for passengers, airport, and airline staff. In addition, Clarity Lab Solutions high throughput lab in Boca Raton, FL will be used for overflow testing if excess testing capacity is required for results within 24 hours of receipt. For more information visit http://www.claritylabsolutions.com/traveling-to-hawaii.html.
Costco/AZOVA
Costco Wholesale, in collaboration with AZOVA, is offering at-home, observed FDA-authorized COVID-19 saliva rt-PCR testing for travelers (Costco members and non-members) for ages five years and older from anywhere in the United States. Tests are delivered via UPS overnight delivery and electronic shareable results are available in 24 to 48 hours from the time the lab receives the test sample. Information and pricing can be found at https://www.costco.com/.product.1509147.html. In addition to our e-commerce traveler solution, Costco will be launching an in-Pharmacy COVID-19 traveler testing solution in select markets coming in December.
Go Health Urgent Care
Rapid COVID-19 Testing—with results in 15 minutes—is available at our designated centers in the greater New York metropolitan area, the Portland, Oregon & Vancouver, Washington area, the San Francisco Bay Area, Hartford and South Eastern Connecticut, Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina, St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas and Delaware. We also offer testing on Level 1 of the International Terminal at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). To learn more about travel testing in your area, please visit Gohealthuc.com/Travel-Testing or select your location above.
UC San Diego Health
UC San Diego Health offers COVID-19 PCR testing at several convenient drive-up locations throughout San Diego County. When your test is scheduled, you will get information on the testing location and address. Tests are available for ages 3 and older and performed by a friendly and welcoming team of experts. Results are typically available within a day. Website coming soon.
University of Washington Medicine
UW Medicine – The University of Washington Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology offers approved testing for travelers to Hawaiʻi at specific UW Medicine and community testing collection locations. Please visit https://testguide.labmed.uw.edu/public/guideline/hawaii_safe_travels for more information.
WestPac Labs
WestPac Labs is now offering COVID-19 Testing Services as an approved partner of the State of Hawaiʻi’s Trusted Testing and Travel Partners Program. Travel testing services are only available through select participating providers. A list of these select providers is located at www.westpaclab.com/covid-19/hawaii.
WestPac Labs is part of Sonic Healthcare USA. Sonic Healthcare USA is a leading provider of state-of-the-art laboratory and pathology services throughout the USA with eight operating divisions and nearly eight thousand US-based employees, 330 Pathologists and serving 30 million patients per year. For more information, visit our website at www.westpaclab.com.
XpresCheck
XpresCheck is a multi-state, airport-based wellness center specializing in Covid-19 testing. We offer PCR tests with results within 72 hours, and Rapid Molecular Covid tests with results while you wait. Locations and appointment scheduling can be found at www.XpresCheck.com with Hawaiʻi-specific information at https://xprescheck.com/hawaii.
Travelers must check with their healthcare provider to ensure that one of the three local labs listed will be used to process/report the test results.
Tests conducted in the state of Hawaiʻi may require an order by a licensed physician or healthcare provider. Please contact lab/pharmacy in advance to confirm requirements prior to scheduling tests.
The pre-travel testing program is one layer of the state’s comprehensive Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program that makes every step of the travel process safer – from pre-arrival testing to post-arrival accommodations and experiences.
Those who do not choose to take a pre-travel test or who do not arrive with a negative test result from a trusted testing or travel partner will be subject to the existing 14-day quarantine. Travelers may seek an exemption from the county they are traveling to.
In the future – trusted testing and travel partners added to the Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program will be uploaded to www.hawaiicovid19.com. The website also includes more information on inter-county pre-travel testing and the Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program.
Aloha!
Thanks again for your good work! Keep things in perspective
Hit by lightning = 0.000143
Eaten by shark – 1 percent of 11,500000 = 0.115
Covid death – 0.0002 to 0.005 (C.D.C figures)
What I find interesting is the cognitive dissonance that is rampant in society today. Fear reigns.
Even when good news like this is forthcoming people argue with it because it shakes their belief system!!
Beyond me!! Let’s be happy for the great news!!! Yeah! Keep people safe. Keep the economy moving. The best site I’ve found is a simple comparative chart of deaths per million. The only way to compare – Have a look: worldometers
Aloha,
I’ve never known anyone hit by lightening or bitten by a shark, but Covid has killed 3 people that I knew (that didn’t know each other). I believe caution is in order.
One problem with your statistic about covid is that it’s only about overall percentage of covid deaths. I would never minimize the loss of life from covid, but death is not the only negative impact of covid. My daughter is a doctor in Gallup, New Mexico, which doesn’t have a lot of resource. Her hospital can only handle a very few ICU patients, and they’ve been sending their serious covid cases to Albuquerque hospitals. Now all New Mexico hospitals are full, and they switched to Phoenix, but now Phoenix hospitals are overloaded. The toll on our healthcare system and healthcare workers is crushing. How many hospitals do you know of that have overrun their capacity from people struck by lightening or bitten by sharks?? None. And your statistics don’t begin to address the covid long-haulers (I know three personally), who may possibly have health issues for the rest of their lives. Your statistics have no heart or soul, and are therefore meaningless to the conversation.
Thanks for your comprehensive reporting of travel to Hawaii. Statistics are statistics. No need, as Statistics are statistics, an should always be questioned. No need, as I said before, to make accusations. No harm intended. I never belittled the suffering from Covid. A question to always be asked is did the person die From Covid or With Covid? Existing complications are a big factor. In the United States, the leading causes of death in adults include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. I could state endless examples of my dear ones dying of these 5 killers. Close to 40,000 people die annually in car accidents. My story could bring tears to your eyes. The point is we need to keep things in perspective. Keep people safe. Keep the economy going to decrease the rise in suicides. We are busy worrying about our trips to Hawaii. Many people in the meantime, with income gone, housing shaky, medical bills that can’t be paid, hungry stomachs, are at the end of their ropes. This is a time for Truth with Compassion.
Hi Nancy.
Thanks for all your comments over the past two years!
Aloha.