Hawaii Opening To Travelers Nov. 1: Here’s What You Need To Know Before You Go

Hawaii is reopening its doors to travelers starting Nov. 1 as the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations in the state are on the decline.

The news of the state’s reopening comes after Hawaii saw a surge in COVID-19 infections as the highly infectious Delta variant took hold in the state and case counts grew to significant levels. On Aug. 23, Gov. David Ige had urged travelers to stay away from the islands and cancel their travel plans.

In a tweet, Ige wrote, “I'm encouraged by the continuing trend of lower case counts of COVID in our islands. Our hospitals are doing better and seeing fewer patients. This gives us the ability to move forward in our economic recovery and safely welcome back fully vaccinated domestic travelers.

“As always, we will continue to monitor case counts and hospitalizations in the islands and adjust as needed while prioritizing the health and safety of our residents.”

Ige is now welcoming travelers to come back to Hawaii with proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of departure to the state. Without proof of these COVID requirements, travelers will instead have to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in Hawaii.

Ige said the state is looking into plans from the federal government to set a requirement for international travelers to have proof of vaccination, which would be required beginning on Nov. 8.

Hawaii has seen its COVID cases drop to a seven-day average of 117 new cases, down from a summer peak of 900, with hospitalizations also decreasing from 400 to about 100 throughout the state, the Associated Press reported.

Hawaii has reported over 87,000 cases of the virus, with over 870 COVID-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The state has 70% of its eligible residents vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Health.