Pack your floral shirts and flip-flops — Hawaii will again be saying “Aloha” to vacationers starting November 1.
Two months after asking tourists to stay away because of surging cases of COVID-19 spurred by the delta variant, Hawaii Gov. David Ige said travelers are once again welcome. Although the state never offiically closed, Ige requested people avoid visiting.
Since then, the state’s daily average has dropped from 900 to 117 cases, with hospitalizations falling from more than 400 to about 100 statewide.
“I think we are all encouraged by what we’ve seen over the last several weeks with the continuing trend of lower case counts,” Ige said at a ceremony opening a new airport facility in Kailua-Kona, as reported by USA Today. “Our hospitals are doing better, and we have fewer COVID patients in them. Most importantly, our health care system has responded, and we have the ability to move forward with economic recovery.”
Visitors to the islands will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of leaving home. If you have neither of these, you’ll have to spend 10 days in quarantine when you land.
Fiji also announced recently it will welcome back tourists, beginning December 1.
“It’s been almost two years since we welcomed international visitors,” Fiji Minister for Tourism, Faiyaz Koya, said in a statement. “And in these two years, we’ve struggled, we’ve adapted, and we’ve prepared. Today, our national airline is ready, our hotels and tour providers are ready, and Fijians are ready to safely welcome the world back. We are ready to let happiness find you again.”
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