Visiting Hawaii? You'll need to fill out these forms 24 hours before arrival

From today, visitors to Hawaii must fill out a 'Safe Travels' application form before arrival. It comes as officials postpone the state's tourism restart date to October, following a surge in daily new coronavirus cases.

Hawaii's government now requires all travelers to fill out its online "Safe Travels" application 24 hours before arrival. There is a form for inter-island travel and another for trans-Pacific travel. The forms can be accessed via a new app, which collects health and contact information from visitors to assist with COVID-19 screening throughout the islands. Once the forms are filled in, passengers will receive a QR code on their phones which can be scanned at border control.

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"I am pleased to launch this digital app, which will allow our travelers to provide their required health and travel information before they arrive at the airport,” Govenor David Ige said in a statement. "It will also help us keep in contact with those who are required to be in quarantine. This is an important step in preparing to reopen our economy."

The introduction of the app comes as the government delayed the reopening date last month for the fourth time. The planned reopening date of September 1 would have allowed out-of-state visitors to bypass Hawaii's 14-day quarantine rule, provided they presented evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result at the airport. That date has now been pushed out to October 1 at the earliest, with Govenor David Ige saying "we will continue to monitor the conditions here in Hawaii as well as key markets on the mainland to determine the appropriate start date for the pre-travel (COVID-19) testing program."

Makapuu Beach on the windward side of Oahu Island in Hawaii. ©Paul Laubach/Shutterstock

For now, passengers arriving into the state must continue to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, in addition to filling out the Safe Travels form and submitting to temperature screening. "This was an extremely difficult decision," Governor Ige tweeted last month of the previous extension. "This delay will further hurt our economy, but as I’ve always said - we will make decisions prioritizing the health and safety of our residents."

Tourists on the beach front at sunset on Waikiki beach ©Jeff Whyte/Shutterstock

nce the testing program is in place travelers can bypass Hawaii's two-week quarantine period if they get tested for COVID-19 and present evidence of a negative result upon arrival, similar to Alaska's travel rules. Arrivals, however, can't get tested in the airport. Instead, they must get checked at a health centre approved by the state's department of health. Visitors must take the test must no more than 72 hours before arriving at the islands and must cover the cost of testing themselves.

As tourism is expected to gradually resume again, Governor Ige said, "now is the time to work together to ensure that our local businesses can safely re-open to incoming travelers."