Strange Times: Traveling During COVID

Now that everyone is re-emerging bleary-eyed into the world again, a lot of people have wondered what will happen as we move into the post-pandemic era, specifically to the travel industry. Since most of us have been stuck in our screen riddled caves for a year and a half, we’re getting restless with cabin fever and want to get out there when we can. That was a big reason why Jasper and I chose to live nomadically. But the question always comes: how is COVID affecting our ability to travel?

Well, if you live in the United States, there’s a lot of answers to this. Each airline has their own policies as well. As of right now (June 22, 2021), almost every airport requires that masks be worn at all times indoors, even if you’ve been vaccinated

Plus, each state has their own rules for what they require from travelers visiting their state. Most states allow fully vaccinated visitors without much ado. But some have more substantial rules. There is an interactive map by Sherpa and American Airlines that shows the restrictions for every region, for both domestic and international travelers, around the world.

Since we’re visiting Hawaii, we had to follow the restrictions set forth by the Hawaii Department of Health. Currently, they require all out-of-state travelers to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test (to avoid a 10-day quarantine) from an approved testing partner, within 72 hours of the last leg of your journey, even if you’re fully vaccinated (unless you were vaccinated in Hawaii). Hawaii is the only state making these strict requirements, though these restrictions will lighten up for domestic travelers once they reach a 60% vaccination rate (I’ve been hitting ‘refresh’ all weekend). There are some extenuating circumstances in which some of these requirements can be negated, but none applied to us (or likely most people outside of Hawaii).

I’ll say first that I’m thankful for the guidelines and I’m glad that Hawaii is taking it so seriously. However, I will also say that I don’t fully understand the exclusive nature of the vaccination rule or approved testing partner sites. Jasper and I are both fully vaccinated with Pfizer, yet because it wasn’t administered within Hawaii’s borders, it doesn’t count. Similarly, Hawaii will only approve NAAT or PCR (also called ID NOW) test results, which is fine, but they only approve them if they were administered by one of their “Trusted Testing Partners”, of which there are only about 20 (many of which are not national chains/ only located on the west coast). If this was a system that was designed to deter people from traveling to Hawaii, it’s a damn good one. The only real problem I have with these two rules is that they feel rather arbitrary and don’t actually seem like they are meant to measure the traveler’s health. I don’t mind having to get tested prior to traveling, it just seems silly to only allow certain places, even when other official, CDC-recognized organizations offer the exact same PCR test (i.e. our local hospital wasn’t acceptable).

Jasper and I had to drive two hours to get tested at a place that checked all the boxes and was able to get us the results pretty quickly. AFC Urgent Care checked us in, tested us, and gave us our results in under 20 minutes (a lot faster than Walgreens’ 2-3 days.) I’m not sponsored, though I would recommend them all day. It took so much weight off our shoulders to finally have the results in hand (negative, as expected), and to be done with the whole fiasco.

When we landed in Honolulu, we had to show the QR code that came with our negative test results. They scanned it, checked our IDs, and sent us on our way. Such an anticlimactic moment. However, it was a great peace of mind to see so many other people showing their own negative test results. We noticed very few people opting to quarantine (understandably).

Since arriving in Oahu, we’ve noticed how seriously they are still taking the pandemic. Almost everyone wears masks indoors, and sometimes outdoors too with a crowd. Restaurants still take our temperatures before we can enter. It’s reassuring to know that we’re almost always going to be safe when we go out, even if it means wearing a mask on hot days. And since every traveler has to either produce a negative test result or quarantine for 10 days, it’s likely there'll be little new COVID cases coming onto the islands.

The best advice I can give, having so recently done this, is to check the guidelines, and check them again. Call if you have to. But make sure you have all the proper information. There’s a lot of steps and instructions along the way and you do not want to show up to your final destination with the wrong kind of test results and be forced to quarantine. And since things are changing every day, make sure you’re following the right guidelines for the time of your trip.

Good luck, and stay safe!