A Hawaii government official has said that travelers to the state will soon be able to skip getting a negative COVID-19 test or participating in a mandatory quarantine period if they have gotten a full series of the coronavirus vaccine.
As per Hawaii News Now, Lieutenant Governor Josh Green said, “I’ve reached out to the governor with a policy decision that we accept people who are fully vaccinated as an exemption to the Safe Travels program.”
Green explained that officials are working on the plan while awaiting findings from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which would reveal whether or not vaccinated people can still transmit coronavirus.
Happily, there’s cause to be optimistic about that, as experts in the field believe it’s a low risk. Said University of Hawaii epidemiologist Dr. DeWolfe Miller: “As far as we know there isn’t a carrier state in this; in the life cycle of this virus. You either recover from them and become immune or get the vaccine and become immune.”
Hawaii has had its share of hurdles when it comes to allowing travelers to visit. It took months before Governor David Ige finally allowed the state to accept visitors, after several false starts. Even now, travelers must show proof of a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT from the state of Hawaii’s Trusted Testing and Travel Partners list (testing must be done within 72 hours of travel), or will be subject to the state’s mandatory 10-day mandatory self-quarantine.
President Joe Biden’s goal is to immunize 100,000,000 Americans in his first 100 days in office. It’s a lofty goal but most people “in the know” believe it’s absolutely possible. So as more people are vaccinated, this new policy would potentially make travel to Hawaii significantly easier.
“This is a massive game changing level of security if we get this done,” said Green.
Feature Photo: dronepicr / flickr
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
