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The island state will soon allow travelers to bypass quarantine.

Hawaii Governor David Ige announced on Wednesday that any traveler who arrives in the Hawaiian islands will not be required to quarantine for the typical 14-day period if they can provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test. This new policy will go into effect on October 15.

Previously, whether they tested positive or not, all travelers, American or otherwise, that arrived in Hawaii were required to quarantine themselves in their lodgings for the customary two-week incubation period of COVID-19. If they were still fine afterwards, they could move around freely. With this new policy, a traveler can bypass the need for the quarantine period, provided they can submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test administered at least three days prior to when their flight is supposed to land in Hawaii. These tests will be administered by CVS and Kaiser Permanente healthcare in a cooperative effort with the state.

Credit: Travel + Leisure

As a large portion of Hawaii’s economy revolves around tourism, the pandemic has been especially hard on the state. Many who traditionally come to the islands for summer vacation reservations cancelled their trips, being unwilling to fly. In order to restart the tourism flow to the islands, Governor Ige has begun organizing a preliminary “vacation bubble” plan, specifically for the island of Kauai. In a similar vein to the travel bubbles being employed by other countries, the vacation bubble will work to isolate healthy tourists as much as possible and take efforts to ensure their states of departure are not overtly hazardous zones.

“We understand the need to address the economic hardship facing our tourism-based community, while also preserving the safety of our residents,” Kauai Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami said in a statement. “The resort bubble program is an added tool to reopening our economy while we learn to co-exist with this virus. It’s not a replacement or the final solution, and we will continue to keep our community updated as we make progress.”