Post-Arrival COVID Testing to Continue on Big Island

Secondary COVID-19 testing for out-of-state arrivals will continue for several days on the Big Island.

Hawaiʻi County announced via press release Friday afternoon that it will continue its trans-Pacific post-arrival testing program at both the Hilo and Kona airports through May 10. The original post-arrival testing program was slated to end on May 1. Post-arrival tests will only be mandatory for travelers who are not fully vaccinated.

Travelers who are able to produce proof of vaccination, with the final vaccination date being at least 14 days prior to arrival, will be granted an exemption from the post-arrival test, according to the county’s release.

The decision to continue the post-arrival testing program comes as the state moves toward its debut of vaccination exemptions for interisland travel on May 11.

“In an effort to support the state’s travel initiatives while continuing to provide safeguards for our community, we have decided to extend our post-arrival testing program an additional 10 days,” said Mayor Mitch Roth.

“Our program has been extremely successful thus far in keeping our numbers some of the best in the nation. However, as we continue to see an incredible amount of travelers arrive who have been completely vaccinated, we feel that it is now safe to transition out of the post-arrival testing program completely,” the mayor continued.