Kauai Is Altering Its Journey Guidelines Once more

It gets a lot easier to travel to Kauai. Starting April 5, tourists to the Hawaiian island will no longer need to stay in a resort bubble or spend time on another Hawaiian island first in order to skip the required COVID-19 quarantine period on Kauai.

Last December, Kauai Mayor Derek SK Kawakami, asked Hawaiian Governor David Ige for permission to get the island off the Hawaii Safe Travels program due to an increase in travel-related COVID-19 cases and Kauai’s limited resources can. Since then, Kauai has been able to keep the COVID-19 case countdown due to its stricter quarantine rules.

“Thanks to the efforts of our community-minded residents and health-focused travel restrictions, Kauai remains one of the safest places in the United States throughout the pandemic,” Kawakami said in a opinion. “Our community’s efforts have given us the opportunity to safely rejoin the state’s Safe Travels program.”

What has changed

Kauai is a rural community with limited resources, which has resulted in stricter testing and quarantine rules being put in place. These stricter rules required tourists to conduct a mandatory 72-hour quarantine in a participating resort bubble until they returned a negative COVID-19 test result. Alternatively, they could stay on another island for three days and then travel to Kauai after receiving a negative COVID-19 test result. The least appealing option was a 10-day quarantine.

These public health requirements paid off. As of March 11, Kauai had only 186 confirmed cases total, and only one person has died from COVID-19. SFGate reports. Compare that to the state of Hawaii, which recorded 27,023 cases of COVID-19 and 448 deaths on March 10.

“More than 24,000 doses of vaccine have been given on Kauai,” Kawakami said. “By April, we will have offered vaccines to our hotel and restaurant staff, as well as our healthcare workers, first responders and Kupuna [senior citizens] will be fully vaccinated. “

A steep price paid

It’s true that Kauai has kept COVID-19 cases down – and residents are safe. As a result, Kauai businesses, sports and social activities were allowed to continue as normal if they followed the containment guidelines Honolulu Star Advertiser Reviews.

On the flip side, severe travel restrictions had a direct – and logical – impact on Kauai’s tourism and revenue. In fact, tourism fell by 96 percent compared to the previous year, according to the SFGate article. In addition, many small businesses had to close due to a lack of tourists. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Kauai lost 7,500 jobs.

Know before you go

Starting April 5, travelers heading to Kauai will be able to bypass the state’s 10-day quarantine period – and they won’t have to stay in a resort bubble to qualify for a quarantine waiver. That said, there are strict guidelines to follow.

Before traveling to Kauai, travelers must take a COVID-19 test prior to travel by one of the Hawaii’s trusted test and travel partner within 72 hours of leaving the continental US for Kauai. Next, you need to create a Safe Travels account and use the Mandatory State of Hawaii Travel and Healthcare Form.

The final step is to upload your COVID-19 negative test results to your Safe Travels account before traveling to Kauai. Negative COVID-19 test results can also be printed out and carried by the traveler.

It is important to remember two important points. Initially, only results from one of Hawaii’s trusted testing and travel partners will be accepted. Second, travelers who arrive without first uploading their COVID-19 negative test result or presenting a paper copy of their negative test result will be placed in a mandatory 10-day quarantine.

Contact the County of Kauai for more information here.

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