HONOLULU (KHON2) — Good news for inter-island travelers: the state is expanding its list of trusted testing partners for inter-county travel.
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More trusted testing partners will make it easier for residents who island-hop to bypass quarantine with a negative test result. The state also plans to double the list of accepted partners for mainland travelers in the near future.
Bypassing quarantine just got a little bit easier for locals looking to travel inter-island.
Lieutenant Governor Josh Green said the state will now accept negative tests results taken within 72-hours of your flight from eight trusted testing partners.
“Historically, we’ve had 25,000 people a day traveling inter-island. So it helps us if we want to visit family. Of course, the reuniting families has been the most important thing I’ve seen from the Safe travels, reopening,” said Lt. Gov. Green. “Beyond that, a lot of people have put off business. A lot of people have to do work in different counties. So I think this will make it easier for people. Hopefully, the tests get cheaper and cheaper and easier and easier to get.”
One of the new inter-island partners is Urgent Care Hawaii. In a statement, CEO Donna Schmidt said:
“We all need to do our part to keep Hawaiʻi safe for our families, visitors and businesses. ‘Get open and stay open!’ is our motto and together we are making that happen. Eliminating the 14-day quarantine for inter-island travel with the COVID-19 testing program is a needed relief for everyone and Urgent Care Hawaii is thrilled to be a Trusted Travel Partner.”
Oahu, Kauai and Maui are participating in the pre-travel test. Big Island is currently requiring its own separate test upon arrival to avoid quarantine.
Anyone who takes a pre-travel test and gets a positive results is subject to the 14-day quarantine order.
According to HTA, more than 16,000 people traveled to Hawaii since the launch of the pre-test program Thursday. Roughly another 7,000 are expected to arrive Saturday.
California residents, Michael and Caroline Stuart, have been visiting Hawaii for years. They planned a week-long visit in November but said scheduling a test with an accepted partner is challenging because all of the appointments are booked.
“They are experiencing high demand right now, which is causing expected delays in their testing time-frame,” Stuart said. “We just aren’t prepared to quarantine until we get our results. Because that would cause a 24 to 48-hour delay in really enjoying our trip. So we would cancel our trip and not go if we cannot get our results before we get on the plane.”
The state currently has 17 trusted testing partners on the mainland.
Lt. Gov. Green said that they plan to expand that list to 40 mainland partners soon, but the state wants to take things slowly.
“But that was also somewhat of a deliberate decision to not make it too fast right away. Because you got to go through quite a process to get these tests checked. It hasn’t been totally simple. Also, we can take a calm opening–We don’t have to have the whole world come to Hawaii right away,” Lt. Gov. Green said.
For details about how the pre-travel test program works click here.
Links to the inter-island pre-travel testing partner websites are below:
Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii will be offering “COVID-19” NAAT testing (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) as part of the State of Hawaiʻi’s Pre-Travel Inter-island Testing Program. Patients should visit www.clinicallabs.com to schedule an appointment, for more information on locations and how to obtain lab results. All lab tests require an order by a licensed healthcare provider in the State of Hawaiʻi.
CVS Health (Longs) – Travelers may schedule an appointment up to two days in the future at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations. Tests available for ages 12 and older. Pre-registration is required. Registration instructions and costs details are on the website.
Hawaiʻi Pacific Health – Hawai’i Pacific Health – Interisland travel screenings are available at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children on O’ahu and Wilcox Medical Center on Kaua’i in partnership with Clinical Labs of Hawaii. Appointments are required for screening at Kapi’olani and must be scheduled online at clinicallabs.com/covid. No appointment is necessary for screening at Wilcox.
Kaiser Permanente (for members only) – Kaiser Permanente members may schedule a test online or contact the appointment call center or nurse advice line in their home region for scheduling instructions. Kaiser Permanente members returning home to Hawaiʻi may call the Away-from-Home Travel Line at 951-268-3900 for scheduling instructions.
Minit Medical – Inter-Island travelers in Hawaii may schedule testing online prior to travel to other islands. Minit Medical has three clinics on Maui with drive-up testing available. Appointment is required. Please call 808-667-6161 for details or logon to Minitmed.com.
Walgreens – Testing is available at no cost to eligible individuals who meet CDC criteria. Tests available for ages five and older. All drive-thru testing locations operate outdoors and patients do not leave their vehicles. Appointment required. Information can be found at walgreens.com/covid19testing.
Urgent Care Hawaii offers COVID-19 testing for inter-island travel. Results are emailed within 24 hours. Register at www.ucarehi.com. Limited walk-ins can be accommodated. Call 808-797-7980 for more information.
Vault Health – At-home tests with real-time audio-visual supervision are available with Vault Health, the first FDA-authorized saliva test. Tests available for ages five and older. Tests are mailed with accurate results in 72 hours or less. Information and costs can be found at learn.vaulthealth.com/state-of-Hawaii.
