Travelers to Hawaii might need a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated, suggested Gov. David Ige at a press interview last week.
Up to date, those who have not taken a full series of a COVID-19 series must provide proof of a negative COVID test before departure or face a 5-day mandatory quarantine on arrival.
But rules are about to get tightened. Although the Hawaii government has not set an official implementation date, Honolulu mayor said Wednesday that the state is aiming for Feb. 18.
“The targeted date for that is Feb. 18, we are going to look at that, we are going to look at that very carefully,” said the Mayor.
“I did tell the governor that we would consider moving Safe Access Oahu in tandem, with that, a lot of this is going to depend on the booster level and where we are in the next couple of weeks,” he added.
Sheri Kajiwara, the administrator of the Safe Travels Program, said in a television interview that her team is working on upgrading the system to be ready for this deployment.
“It seems very likely that a booster will be required to be considered updated in your vaccination status,” she said.
Furthermore, Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth reminded local media outlets that his “administration has fiercely advocated for more robust COVID mitigation measures at [their] ports of entry since taking office in late 2020 (…) that said, [they] agree that ‘up-to-date’ should include an additional shot.”
“The pandemic has shown us that we can all spread the virus if we aren’t careful, and adequate testing has proven to be an excellent first line of defense for our community,” he added.
That’s not all, though. Maui, a popular Hawaiian island, has already modified the definition of fully vaccinated to include people who have received a booster jab.
This implies, for instance, that customers will be required to present a booster shot to be permitted to dine inside at restaurants. Such restriction will apply from Jan. 24.
According to USA Today, Ige’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the Feb. 18 date. In fact, the office said that there were no changes to the state’s entry requirements as of Tuesday.