Good News – Travel will soon resume to Hawaii Colombia, and South Africa
Following the news and updates around the COVID-19 pandemic, many airlines were forced to suspend or reduce their daily operations, and countries were forced to introduce travel restrictions. With the pandemic slowing down around the world, many countries have started to ease border restrictions and reopen for international tourists.
Hawaii Introducing Pre-Travel Testing Program
In late March Hawaii introduced a required 14-day self-quarantine for both visitors and residents arriving from out-of-state. So far there has been no way to avoid the quarantine, but great news for everyone interested in traveling to Hawaii. Governor of Hawaii David Ige announced on September 16 that the state will introduce a pre-travel testing program starting October 15.
The pre-travel testing program enables visitors that bring proof of a negative NAAT test (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) to avoid the 14-day quarantine. The negative test should not be older than 72 hours before boarding the flight to Hawaii. All visitors will be obligated to show their negative test results upon arrival at the airport. Visitors will be required to complete a State Travel and Health form upon arrival within the state and temperature checks at the airport will be conducted. Keep in mind that Hawaii will not offer tests upon arrival and if a visitor doesn't have a negative NAAT test, they will be obligated to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Starting October 15, 2020 entry requirements for Hawaii will be:
- Proof of a negative NAAT test (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) not older than 72 hours
- The test will have to be FDA-approved and from a CLIA certified laboratory
- A completed State Travel and Health form. You can find the form here
Colombia Reopening its borders for International Flights
Following a 6 month lockdown, Colombia is officially reopening its airports for international flights starting September 21, 2020. Colombia started to ban international flights to Colombia in late March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The South American nation will gradually restart international flights initially connecting with the USA, Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala. Passengers arriving in Colombia must present a negative PCR test taken no longer than 96 hours before departure.
South Africa Reopening for Tourism
South Africa is officially reopening for tourism starting October 1, 2020, as announced by the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa was one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and they shut their borders on March 27, 2020. However, recently they have seen a drop in numbers and the government started to ease the restrictions and the moved to alert level 1.
President Cyril Ramphaosa said in an announcement:
We will be allowing travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure, and other travel with effect from 1 October 2020. This is subject to various containment and mitigation measures.
All passengers will be required to present the negative result of a PCR test, taken no longer than 72 hours prior to departure. The president said that all passengers will have to go through health screening upon arrival. If passengers show symptoms they will be required to take a PCR test and quarantine. President Ramaphosa also said that all visitors will be required to download the government’s contact tracing alert app for the duration of their stay.
Airports that will reopen on October 1, 2020:
- Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo
- Cape Town International
- Durban’s King Shaka