Effective tomorrow, Tuesday, June 16, there will be no 14-day quarantine for interisland travelers, as long as they are not people who have flown in from out of state and thus subject to a 14-day quarantine.

Interisland travel is prohibited for those still in quarantine.  For full detail about the mandatory 14-day quarantine for those coming from out of state, in effect through July 31, click here for the State Department of Transportation web site.

There are new mandatory interisland travel procedures, include an online travel and health form that should be filled out in advance of going to the airport, but within 24 hours of the flight, plus a temperature check at the airport.  The form is easy to fill out online, and then you can print it and bring it to the airport.

The page includes a simple checklist of procedures, which includes checking in to your airline online, filling out the travel and health form in advance, and arriving at the airport for your interisland flight 3 hours in advance.  The State DOH says to follow your airline’s procedures regarding mask wearing and physical distancing.  Hawaiian Airlines and most others require masks in waiting areas and in flight.

The State Department of Health asks that everybody, when filling out the forms, be as complete, as current, and as honest as possible to help ensure timely follow up and contact tracing as well as identify travelers who may benefit from testing and health information.  It will also speed up the check-in process.

The biggest benefit is helping keep everybody in Hawaii as healthy as possible as the economy reopens.   The State DOH says there will be more cases of COVID-19 as the state reopens travel, and the goal is to minimize the cases to avoid over-taxing the healthcare system while helping people stay healthy.  The State Department of Health would be able to advise people who traveled if they’d been close to somebody who later tests positive for COVID-19,  so they could get tested and/or isolate based on DOH recommendations.

The more current the information, the more useful it is.

The form asks for travel and lodging information, whether you’ve been exposed to or tested for COVID-19, whether and when you had a flu shot, and other health details.

The fillable PDF form should take no more than two to five minutes to complete online if you have your information readily available. Complete the form, print it and bring it with you to present to the screener prior to boarding.

If you are not able to fill out the form and print it before arriving at the airport, you can complete the form at the airport.  If you have to fill out the form at the airport, DOH recommends arriving even earlier than 3 hours before the flight.

To get to the online form:

hawaii_state_travel_and_health_form

Hawaii has a low per capita case count, even with the recent spike in cases, mostly on O’ahu.  The State DOH says the new procedures are part of the best practices in public health and epidemiology to help keep the spread of COVID-19 suppressed.