Hawaii Reopens To Visitors From Japan

Hawaii’s Governor David Ige announced that starting November 6, 2020, travelers from Japan may bypass the State of Hawaiʻi’s mandatory 14-day quarantine if they take a COVID-19 test from a trusted testing partner in Japan.

However, the test must be taken no earlier than 72-hours prior to departure and the test results must be negative.

“Many of Hawaiʻi’s residents trace their ancestry back to Japan, and welcoming our Japanese guests back to Hawaiʻi is an important step in maintaining the close relationship between our two regions,” said Gov. David Ige, in a press statement issued on October 27, 2020.

“We believe we have created the safest travel testing program in the country, and we are grateful to the Japanese government for assisting us in making our pre-travel testing program available to its residents.”

This pre-travel testing program is one layer of the state’s comprehensive Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program that makes every step of the travel process safer – from pre-arrival testing to post-arrival accommodations and experiences, stated this press release.

Additionally, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health has approved the use of the COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test conducted by a laboratory authorized by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare for the pre-travel test.

A list of 21 trusted testing partners in Japan has been approved as of October 27, 2020. For more information visit Hawaii COVID-19 and Hawaii Tourism COVID-19.

Japanese nationals traveling abroad are still subject to a 14-day quarantine upon their return to the country. Travel restrictions on U.S. travel to Japan remain in place.

The U.S. CDC’s Warning - Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel, for Japan remains active as of October 29, 2020. The CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential international travel to Japan. This is because travelers at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should consider postponing all travel, including essential travel, to Japan.

Vax-Before-Travel publishes research-based travel vaccine news.