HONOLULU (KHON2) – Fully vaccinated travelers are one step closer to being able to skip quarantine.
Gov. David Ige on Friday, April 9, gave the green light to a vaccination exemption program that could begin as early as May.
on the way with KHON 2GOKHON’s morning podcast, every morning at 8
Are you planning a trip this summer? Make sure you put getting vaccinated on your to-do list. Travelers may soon be able to bypass testing and quarantines with a COVID-19 vaccination card.
Gov. David Ige is involved in a vaccination exemption program that has yet to be approved by HIEMA Director General Kenneth Hara.
Lt. gov. Josh Green said Hara is for it and they are the ones developing the program.
“General Hara and I are in step to get this done,” Green said. “Really, it was a good day when the governor agreed to go in that direction. This is the game changer for Hawaii.”
According to Green, individuals can qualify for the exemption two weeks after being fully vaccinated.
“Then you can just upload your card,” he explained. “And then show your card upon arrival at the gate with your ID. And then you can go. That is the goal.”
Hara and Green are currently working with several companies to streamline a digital platform and online verification process.
“We work with a company here in Hawaii called Clear, a company called Common Pass, and a company called First Vitals,” Green said. “All of these groups could very well provide a digital platform for us to make it even easier to upload.”
“But first, we tend to use the card and verify ourselves by checking people’s IDs at the gate,” Green said.
Green said the vaccination waiver is the “natural progression of our safe travel program,” and he and Hara plan to present their plan to the governor the week of Monday, April 12.
Anyone who is not vaccinated can still travel by following the Safe Travel Program guidelines.
“So we don’t discriminate against anyone, if they’re against vaccination and want to travel they can just get tested, no big deal,” Green said. “So people will have a choice. We always believe people should be treated fairly.”
According to Green, the program could give the green light to inter-island travel as early as May 1.
“We expect to start with inter-island travel for our residency first. I think a month later, after making sure the program is working well, we’re going to be traveling with this safe travel pass from the mainland,” Green said.
He said they won’t be allowing exceptions for international travelers until much later as more COVID-19 variants emerge around the world.
Vaccination exemption for local and mainland visitors is something Hawaii Tourism and Lodging Association President Mufi Hannemann said they’ve been waiting for.
“From the start, we wanted vaccination to serve as a passport, making it easier for people to travel safely, healthily and responsibly.”
Hannemann said they are keen to accommodate more visitors and believe the program will help give Hawaii’s economy a boost.
“We were very satisfied. And you know, we promise the governor that we will do our part on the hospitality side,” said Hannemann.
Concerns have been raised about the use of fraudulent vaccination cards. Green said there will be harsh penalties for anyone caught with a counterfeit card.
Comments are closed.