On March 4, 2020, the City and County of Honolulu enacted an emergency order to fight against COVID-19. Businesses were closed—and later reopened under strict guidelines—and the Safe Access Oʻahu program was put into effect, which required restaurants, fitness centers and event organizers to verify that employees and customers were fully vaccinated or had a […]
While we are far from being out of the woods with the COVID-19 pandemic, cases have begun to see a gradual drop since the state saw record-high numbers in December and January. Because of this, Maui Mayor Mike Victorino has repealed the county’s booster shot requirement to be considered “fully vaccinated”—which you need to be
In response to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, which has dominated COVID-19 news headlines for weeks, Hawaiʻi state officials have officially changed the Islands’ rules and regulations regarding quarantine mandates to align with CDC guidelines. One of the biggest changes, especially for travelers, is that the 10-day mandatory quarantine for arriving visitors without vaccination documentation
Amid record-high numbers of COVID-19 infections in Hawaiʻi, Maui County is revising its definition of being “fully vaccinated.” It’s the first county in the state to require a COVID-19 booster to be considered completely vaccinated. Starting Jan. 24, to enter “high risk” establishments including restaurants, bars and gyms, patrons will need to show proof of
For a while, things got better with COVID-19. Case numbers were low, folks were getting vaccinated and it looked like things were returning back to normal. However, due to the omicron variant, as well as increased social gatherings due to the holiday season, Hawaiʻi is seeing its highest COVID-19 counts to date. On Sunday, December
There was a time—not that long ago—when you could hop on a plane and arrive in Hawai‘i with nothing more than your vacation essentials and a rough idea of what you wanted to do. COVID-19 changed all that. Much in the way the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 forever changed the way we travel—strict security
Starting Nov. 8, non-U.S. citizens and other travelers arriving from international destinations can travel to the Islands under new federal requirements. The requirements are: For Direct International Travel to Hawaiʻi Non-U.S. citizens traveling directly to Hawaiʻi from an international destination must present both a vaccination record and a negative COVID-19 test result (NAAT or antigen)
Good news for anyone living on or visiting Oʻahu. As new COVID-19 cases continue to decline overall in the Islands—there were 184 new coronavirus cases reported on Tuesday statewide—Oʻahu is poised to loosen restrictions this week. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said today that bars and restaurants can stay open until 2 a.m. effectively immediately and
Nearly two months after Gov. David Ige said it wasn’t a good time to travel to the Islands—this was during the end-of-summer Covid-19 surge—he is now encouraging people to return to Hawaiʻi. In a press conference yesterday, Ige said Hawaiʻi will be “open to vaccinated residents and visitors who are traveling domestically and between islands for
The late-summer Covid-19 surge—spurred by the highly contagious delta variant—seems to be on the decline in Hawaiʻi, as new infection cases have consistently dropped below 200 a day. (In fact, on Tuesday, there were just 49 new cases reported statewide, the lowest single-day number since July.) And that decline has prompted Oʻahu officials to ease
Updated, 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Hawaiʻi recorded its highest single-day COVID-19 count—1,678 new cases—prompting government officials to come up with a plan to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus. So, beginning Sept. 13, anyone who wants to enter a restaurant, gym, bar, movie theater or other Oʻahu business will need to show proof
The COVID-19 surge in Hawaiʻi continues—and the state is adding more restrictions and this plea: Reduce travel to the Islands. Hawaiʻi’s 571 new COVID-19 cases today brings the state’s seven-day average case count to 671, with a seven-day average positivity rate of 8.3%. (On Oʻahu, the seven-day average positivity rate is 9.7%.) Hospital intensive care
