Hawaii residents excited over new coronavirus travel rules

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Inter-island travel will be much easier for vaccinated Hawaii residents starting on Tuesday, May 11.

KHON2 spoke with several residents who are excited about the change.

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Multiple residents said the new protocols should have already been enacted.

“Very good, they should’ve done it way long ago,” said Maui resident Andrew Okada.

“It is great, we should not be isolating islands,” said Honolulu resident Nester Calucag. “We are one state and we should really go to every part of the whole State of Hawaii.”

Residents say this is one of the best ways to help Hawaii’s economy.

“I think that it’s a wonderful thing and I think it’s about time that they open it up to local people because a lot of us depend on travel for work and without it, it’s hard to support our families,” said Honolulu resident Nelson Rita.

Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement:

“Allowing vaccinated residents to travel between our islands without restriction is a positive step to allow more people in our communities to reconnect with family and friends. We look forward to the extension of the vaccine exemption to U.S. mainland travelers and further relaxation of interisland measures to help us safely restore our economy.”

KHON2 spoke with a few residents who were not fans of the current safe travel requirements.

“We have to do all the other paperwork on the computer, get all the codes and everything, and it’s just too much humbug,” Okada said.

“I just hope things go away and we can get back to a normal life,” Rita said.

The program was delayed over concerns regarding verification and fraud. Residents say there should be severe penalties for anyone caught falsifying documents.

“If anyone is doing it, they should catch him and they should put him in prison because that is putting everyone else in jeopardy by having a fake vaccine card,” Rita said.

According to Gov. Ige, the vaccination travel protocol program may be extended to include trans-Pacific travelers in the summer and international travelers later in 2021.