UPDATE: APRIL 1, 2021
As Hawaii reopens to tourism and customer numbers rise, the Aloha State’s financial restoration is trying brighter. Nonetheless, the Hawaii Secure Travels Program and a compulsory 10-day quarantine for guests with out a unfavorable COVID-19 stay in place.
The previous two weeks have seen a spike in new circumstances in Hawaii, climbing again into triple-digits. This was anticipated with the return of tourism, however officers are keen to coach guests about Hawaii’s statewide masks mandate and social distancing tips as Hawaii’s well-liked customer locations see bigger and bigger crowds.
Hawaii’s residents have been notably conscious of masking and social distancing, and lots of right here worry the hassle will probably be for nothing if reopening results in a fourth viral surge and one other devastating lockdown.
The has been dialogue amongst well being and tourism officers a couple of so-called “Vaccine Passport” that will enable guests to keep away from quarantine with proof of a full inoculation. The is each robust help for and opposition to such measure. No plan has but been introduced, and there’s no timeline for when a Vaccine Passport may be carried out in Hawaii.
A part of the state’s efforts to cease the unfold of COVID-19 in Hawaii consists of the AlohaSafe Alert App, accessible without spending a dime obtain by way of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Maui County now requires the app to be downloaded by guests to the Valley Isle as new an infection numbers stay excessive and are climbing.
The AlohaSafe Alert App doesn’t monitor location or identification. It retains monitor of different cellular units a person could have been in shut contact with, with out utilizing GPS location information. It’s an added layer of safety for guests and for the residents they arrive into contact with.
Take heed to our Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast for the most recent developments affecting Hawaii guests.
UPDATE, February 25, 2021:
Hawaii has taken one other step towards the return of bigger customer numbers and the restoration of a state financial system that has been decimated by the COVID-19 international pandemic and the lockdown it has compelled within the Aloha State.
As vaccines develop into extra accessible and as case charges and hospitalizations proceed do lower, Oahu (Honolulu County) immediately strikes into “Tier 3” of the town’s reopening plan. That is fantastic information for the companies and eating places that will probably be allowed to extend capability and ease a number of the restrictions put in place to curb the unfold of coronavirus.
Officers have additionally floated proposals for the Hawaii Secure Travels program that will enable guests with proof of a COVID vaccination to keep away from the necessary 14-day quarantine now required of arrivals with out a unfavorable COVID take a look at from one of many state’s “Trusted Testing Companions”. These are cautiously hopeful occasions in Hawaii.
There stays the specter of harmful neighborhood unfold of COVID in Hawaii. That is evidenced by the truth that Maui County, with a fraction of Oahu’s inhabitants, has twice in a single week surpassed Honolulu County within the variety of day by day new reported circumstances of COVID. The necessity for vigilance amongst guests and residents stays crucial if Hawaii is to proceed on its path to financial, public well being, and social restoration.
What stays clear, nevertheless, is that the efforts of our private and non-private sector officers, and of our residents themselves, are exhibiting us that it’s potential for us to emerge from the worry and uncertainty the pandemic has engendered over the previous 12 months.
Test the hyperlinks beneath for the most recent accessible data on the Hawaii Secure Travels program and use Hawaii Aloha Journey’s unique (and free) Journey Calculator, which can inform you the earliest time and date to obtain a unfavorable COVID take a look at and keep away from the 14-day quarantine.
The scenario stays fluid, however the outlook appears to be getting higher every single day. Stick with us right here at Hawaii Aloha Journey, and tune into our Hawaii Trip Podcast for the most recent updates on planning a Hawaii trip.
A hui hou means “till we meet once more” within the Hawaiian language, and we look ahead to it!
Hawaii State Division of Transportation is rolling out its Secure Travels App, a program meant to streamline the arrival process for trans-Pacific guests and residents getting back from abroad and precisely acquire information on vacationers topic to the necessary 14-day quarantine. It’s a “scaled up” model of a system already used for interisland journey.
“It was a breeze,” says Aloha Bruce of his recent trip to Kauai. “No trouble in any respect. It was actually handy and straightforward to make use of.” The system makes use of bar codes and different digital know-how as a pre-screening technique of getting details about departure factors, lodging, and well being data rapidly to screeners at Hawaii’s airports.
The unique program Bruce describes was profitable however not “scalable” for the variety of guests Hawaii expects as efforts to reopen the state proceed, however it’s being changed by an app developed by Google and its companions for Hawaii. The safetravels.hawaii.gov web site is at the moment “in transition” based on the web site itself.
Listed here are an important hyperlinks it’s essential to get began:
TRUSTED PARTNERS FOR TESTING (CLICK HERE)
HAWAII SAFE TRAVELS PROGRAM (FAQ’S) (CLICK HERE)
REGISTER FOR HAWAII SAFE TRAVELS PROGRAM (CLICK HERE)
For essentially the most present data, guests are directed to the Health Department coronavirus website.
The rollout of the Secure Travels App is an encouraging step towards the reopening of Hawaii tourism. There’s hope that it may be totally in place by the quarantine exemption for guests with unfavorable COVID-19 assessments, which has been delayed till not less than October 1 attributable to an alarming spike in new coronavirus circumstances in Hawaii in latest weeks.
The encouraging information in regards to the Secure Travels App is way wanted, as Oahu has entered a second “keep at dwelling” order and all non-essential companies have been shuttered till not less than September 6. Eating places are restricted to solely takeout service. Maui can be seeing a fast improve in lively circumstances. Public faculties, for essentially the most half, will conduct distance studying for not less than the start of the varsity 12 months. Each day returning residents have outnumbered incoming guests for the primary time in a long time.
The Secure Travels App gives hope for rising from the COVID-19 disaster in Hawaii. “The COVID is with us,” Bruce says. “That is simply going to develop into a part of how we journey, wherever.” Like TSA screenings, eradicating footwear, and different safety measures carried out since 9/11, Secure Travels and different applied sciences prefer it are destined to be part of touring to any extent further.
Secure Travels can be encouraging as a result of it improves the power to trace guests and residents underneath quarantine. The variety of individuals getting caught and cited for violating quarantine is disturbing.
Extra particulars from authorities and builders from Google are but to return. Ideally, a Hawaii customer will have the ability to get a COVID-19 take a look at earlier than departing for Hawaii and have the licensed outcomes accessible to screeners upon their arrival within the Aloha State, exempting them from necessary quarantine.
Plans to reopen Hawaii tourism are incremental and are nonetheless being developed. The Secure Travels App is a step towards reopening, and we right here at Hawaii Aloha Journey are monitoring this system to finest assist you to plan your Hawaii trip.
Posted by: Jamie Winpenny
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