Maui County sets start date for post-arrival COVID tests for trans-Pacific travelers
KAHULUI, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Maui County will start post-arrival COVID tests for trans-Pacific passengers on May 4, Mayor Mike Victorino said Wednesday.
Officials have narrowed down their list of companies that will administer the tests at the airport in Kahului.
Anyone traveling from the mainland will have to take the test unless they can prove they’re fully vaccinated.
“If you bring your vaccination card, just like the intercounty travel and the card is something we are going to look at, and we can pretty much tell if it’s genuine or not,” Victorino said.
“That’s how we’re gonna allow you to skip. Hopefully, people won’t cheat. But again, like anything else, we’ll catch you sooner or later, so don’t worry about that.”
The so-called vaccine passport program for inter-island travel is expected to start one week after Maui’s mandatory post-arrival testing.
[READ MORE: Maui to begin 2nd virus test for travelers in early May]
[READ MORE: Maui travelers left in limbo over post-arrival COVID test eager for details on plan]
Earlier this month, Victorino said the secondary test is to determine if visitors are contributing to the spike of COVID infections on island. However, some visitors said having a secondary post-arrival test will take another toll on the island’s already crippled tourism industry.
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