Unrestricted Hawaii Inter-island travel for fully vaccinated begins May 11

4 years ago4 years ago Linda Hohnholz - editor

Hawaii Daily COVID-19 update of coronavirus reports and statistics from government departments as of Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in the Aloha State.

Governor’s Office:

Unrestricted Inter-island Travel for People Fully Vaccinated in Hawai‘i to Begin May 11

Governor Ige announced this afternoon that people who have been fully vaccinated in Hawai‘i can resume inter-county travel without COVID-19 testing and quarantine. The exception is for people who have received vaccines, two weeks after their last recommended dose.

“We made the decision to start with an inter-county travel program for those vaccinated in the State of Hawai‘i, because we are able to verify the information. This phased approach will allow us to assess the impacts of the program to our pre-departure document check program and screening procedures. Most importantly, we’ll be able to assess any impact to our virus transmission rates and healthcare facilities. As always, our number one priority is the health and safety of Hawai‘i’s people,” said Gov. Ige.

Work is underway to develop a validation process for travelers who received vaccinations outside of Hawai‘i. Once this process is in operation, the state plans to expand the vaccine exception to include travelers from the continental U.S. and Alaska. “We continue to work with several companies, and I believe solutions that provide the same assurance of integrity for domestic and international travel are forthcoming,” Governor Ige said.

Until then, domestic trans-Pacific travelers can avoid mandatory travel quarantine by following the Safe Travels Hawai‘i pre-test program requirements. “The sooner we move to herd immunity, the sooner we can get to a new accepted norm and sunset the Safe Travels Hawai‘i program altogether,” Governor Ige concluded.

Governor Highlights Hawai‘i’s Progress in the Pandemic Fight

At the afternoon news briefing, Governor Ige pointed to the success Hawai‘i has had in fighting COVID-19:

The vaccination program, along with safe practices, continues to generate the best results in the nation
Last week (April 11-17), Hawai‘i had the lowest death and infection rates in the country
Hawai‘i has had the best health outcomes in the U.S. since March 7, 2020

Governor Ige applauded Lt. Gov. Josh Green, Neighbor Island mayors, Health Director Dr. Libby Char, and HI-EMA Director Kenneth Hara and their teams for their roles in keeping infection rates and the death counts low, as well as their involvement in the development of the inter-island exception for fully vaccinated people. “Together, our #1 priority remains protecting the health of Hawai‘i’s people.”

Department of Health:

https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/what-you-should-know/current-situation-in-hawaii/

48 New COVID-19 Cases Reported

DOH reports 48 new cases of coronavirus today.

This report includes cases up until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Full data is posted on the State COVID-19 dashboard and on the DOH Disease Outbreak & Control Division website daily: hawaiicovid19.com/dashboard.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 11:59 p.m. April 18, 2021

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since 2/28/2020 (including new cases)
O‘ahu	26	24,210
Hawai‘i	1	2,645
Maui	14	3,270
Kaua‘i	0	200
Moloka‘i	0	35
Lānaʻi	0	111
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI	7	1,019
Total Cases	48	31,490++
Deaths	0	474

Hospitalizations as of 8:30 a.m., April 19, 2021: Hawai‘i-6, Maui-17, O‘ahu-22, Kaua‘i-0

++As a result of updated information, one out-of-state case, one case on Maui, and two cases on O‘ahu were removed from the counts.

Department of Public Safety

Statewide Testing Continues

COVID-19 testing is continuously being conducted statewide at all facilities. There are no new positive results to report. The Maui Community Correctional Center (MCCC) active positive inmate count remains unchanged at one (1). The O‘ahu Community Correctional Center reports 41 negative inmate test results, Halawa Correctional Facility reports seven (7) negative inmate test results, Waiawa Correctional Facility reports four (4) negative inmate results and the Women’s Community Correctional Center reports one (1) negative inmate test result. For more information on PSD’s planning and response efforts to COVID-19: http://dps.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-resources/.

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority

For information on daily trans-Pacific arrivals visit:

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/covid-19-updates/trans-pacific-passenger-arrivals/

Helpful Resources

Trusted Testing and Travel Partners:

The state of Hawai‘i only accepts Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from Trusted Testing and Travel Partners. For the full list of domestic trans-Pacific, inter-county, international and airline partners, or information on how to become a Trusted Testing Partner, go to: