Policy change takes effect today as COVID cases surge on mainland
HONOLULU – Gov. David Ige signed a 16th COVID-19 emergency proclamation requiring all transpacific travelers to have a negative test result from a trusted travel partner before their departure for the State of Hawai‘i, in order to bypass the 14-day quarantine. The new policy takes effect tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 24.
“We are implementing this added layer of safety in response to the dramatically increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the continental United States and around the world. The health of our residents and visitors is our primary concern, especially as more people travel to our state during the holidays,” said Gov. Ige.
Travelers heading to Hawai‘i must upload their negative test result to the Safe Travels system prior to departure or, as an alternative to uploading, bring a hard copy of their negative test result with them when boarding their flight. The State of Hawai‘i highly recommends that all transpacific travelers departing for Hawai‘i carry a hard copy of their negative test result as a backup.
The policy change means that test results will not be accepted once a traveler arrives in Hawai‘i. Travelers who did not have a negative test result prior to departing for Hawai‘i, must self-quarantine for 14 days or the length of the stay, whichever is shorter.
Post-arrival testing and results will also not be accepted once a traveler has arrived in the State of Hawai‘i.
This policy change applies to domestic transpacific flights and flights from international locations in which pre-travel testing programs are in place. It does not apply to inter-county travelers.
The 16th emergency proclamation is posted at https://governor.hawaii.gov/emergency-proclamations/