Governor David Ige announced that the state is ending the travel quarantine and the Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program after the current emergency period ends on March 25.
r>
Beginning at 12:01 am, Mar. 26, passengers arriving from domestic points of origin will not have to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a pre-travel negative test result.
Incoming passengers will also no longer be required to create a Safe Travels account or provide travelers information and trip details. Travelers arriving in the State of Hawaiʻi now through March 25, are still subject to Safe Travels requirements.
International passengers will continue to follow the requirements that were put in place by the federal government.
In addition, beginning on March26, state/county employees and visitors to state facilities will no longer be required to provide vaccination status or negative COVID test results.
“We started the Safe Travels program to protect the health, lives, and livelihoods of the people of HawaiÊ»i. The program put in place safety protocols that included a multi-layered screening and testing approach that kept our communities safe during the COVID-19 surges that endangered the most vulnerable of our citizens,†said Governor Ige. “Right now, we are seeing lower case counts, and hospitalizations are coming down.â€
In the meantime, the state’s mask mandate will remain in place for now. While all states have announced the end to their mask mandates, several major counties have kept them in place. For example, Pennsylvania has no mask mandate, but as of yesterday, Philadelphia does.
“Many states dropped their mask mandates earlier in the pandemic, only to have to reinstate them once the Delta variant surged. Hawaiʻi maintained its mask mandate and our consistency helped to keep COVID case numbers and hospitalizations as low as possible during the surge. It is also one of the reasons Hawaiʻi has the second lowest death rate in the country,†said Governor Ige.
“We are watching disease activity closely across the state, the country, and globally, and we will adjust accordingly to keep our entire community healthy – from keiki to kupuna.†■