Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth announced the roll-out of Healthier Organizations for Everyone (HOE), a new COVID-19 business-testing program. The program is designed to prevent workplace spread of the virus through travel related testing.  The County will administer the program in partnership with Community First Hawaiʻi through their Our Kuleana Pledge Partners

Participating organizations are encouraged to provide a rapid test to all employees, vaccinated and unvaccinated, before traveling off-island and collect rapid test results 24-hours before the employee’s anticipated return to the workplace. Employees who receive a positive or inconclusive test result should inform their employer before returning to the workplace. Employees who receive a negative rapid test result may return to the workplace without additional testing.

Since the program’s launch on February 4, 2022, 18 partnerships have been created in agreement with the HOE testing program. In addition, the first 100 businesses to sign up for the program will receive 20 free rapid tests procured by Community First Hawaiʻi as part of an incentive to join the collective effort. Individual businesses are responsible for purchasing all other tests per the program.

In a press release Mayor Roth said,”At the heart of a healthy economy is a healthy and vibrant workplace.  We have reached a point in the pandemic where we must continue to march forward as a community. Through partnerships with our on-island businesses to test employees who travel off-island, we believe that we can prevent a majority of workplace spread and ultimately reduce community spread islandwide. That said, we are incredibly grateful for all of the businesses who jumped at the opportunity to join us in this effort and continue to welcome all Hawaiʻi Island businesses to sign up if they haven’t already.”

More information about Healthier Organizations for Everyone can be found at hawaiicounty.gov/healthyorg