Governor David Ige has approved a pre-travel test for travelers from Japan so they may bypass the 14-day travel quarantine.

The Department of Health (DOH) has approved the Covid-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) authorized by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Proof of a negative test result from trusted testing partners in Japan will allow travelers from Japan to bypass the 14-day quarantine upon their arrival in Hawai‘i.

The State Department of Health is in discussions with Japanese medical institutions to secure a list of trusted testing partners.  The program will launch once the travel partners are selected.  The State has provided no estimated timeline.

It will work like the pre-travel testing program that goes into effect tomorrow for other trans-Pacific travelers, where arriving travelers will present a negative COVID-19 test and be able to avoid the 14-day travel quarantine, except on Hawaii Island.  On Hawaii Island, Mayor Harry Kim is instituting a second test that all arriving trans-Pacific travelers must take upon arrival at the airports in Hilo, Kona, or Waimea.

The DOH is currently in discussions with various Japanese medical institutions as it secures a list of trusted testing partners in Japan. Once the list is established and the pre-travel program is launched for Japan —  travelers from that country will have the option to take the NAAT test from a trusted partner 72 hours prior to their departure for Hawai‘i. They would be required to show proof of a negative test result upon arrival in order to bypass the 14-day quarantine.

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