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Effective February 25, the County of Honolulu (Oahu) moved to Tier 3 of their COVID-19 Reopening Plan. This is one step closer to the most relaxed step, Tier 4.  Tier 3, as you can guess allows more activities and operations. A breakdown of some of the changes in Tier 3 are: 

One thing that I thought was to be included in Tier 3 but is not, is the reopening of bars and nightclubs.  It seems this does not happen until Tier 4.

Rick Blangiardi, the new Mayor of Honolulu pointed out that advancing to Tier 3 “does not mean we can let our guard down”. The wearing of masks in public, social distancing and staying home when feeling sick are all still very important. Should the number of new cases and the positivity rate increase, we could potentially move back down to Tier 2.

Below is an Infographic from the County detailing Tier 3

LIVE Tier 3 Honolulu Reopening Strategy – For more info go to oneoahu.org by Honolulu DEM

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COVID-19 Testing Photo

Thinking of a warm weather getaway? A place with beaches, sand and sunshine? Perhaps you’re thinking of the Caribbean, Mexico or the South of France. Well, a new CDC rule related to COVID-19 may have you re-thinking your plans.

Under this new CDC rule that becomes effective January 26, all international air passengers (two years and older) arriving into the US will be required to get a viral test for COVID-19 within three days prior to their flight departure to the US. If you live in the US, you might think “OK what’s that got to do with me”?  Well, this rule applies to US residents as well as others. The rule states that passengers must provide the airline written documentation of their negative laboratory test results or documentation of recovery from COVID-19. If a passenger is unable or unwilling to provide the required documentation, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger.  

Whoa, suddenly this makes things seem much more serious and complicated. Imagine flying to say, Mexico as an example, for a week of rest and relaxation at a nice beachfront hotel enjoying the warmth and sunshine.  Then suddenly having to scramble to find a place to get a test and the accompanying paperwork before you can get on a plane to go home. This then begs the question, what happens if just one person in your party is unable to get the test and paperwork? Do you leave them behind or does the whole party stay?  

What’s a person to do? You NEED to get away, you WANT a vacation to a warm place with beautiful beaches, warmth and sunshine. We at Ola Properties have the solution for you! Pack your bags and head to Ko Olina on the beautiful, sun filled Leeward Coast of Oahu! Ko Olina has some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet and the famous lagoons here are perfect for swimming, snorkeling and just relaxing. 

Admittedly, if you’re coming to Ko Olina you will want to get a negative COVID-19 test prior to arrival in Hawaii so that you can avoid the state’s 10 day quarantine. Find the latest Hawaii travel and entry requirements by visiting  https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/

Personally, I would much rather get the COVID-19 testing out of the way before I go on vacation rather than dealing with it while there.  I could imagine myself waking up on day five of a seven day vacation, suddenly remembering that the family needed tests and spending the remainder of our vacation scrambling to find a testing site in unfamiliar territory and hoping to get tested in time to get on a plane back home: with the entire family!

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Why create additional stress for yourself by traveling outside the country? Hop on a plane and come to Ko Olina instead. We have weekly rentals at the Beach Villas at Ko Olina or if you are able to work and school remotely, consider one of our longer term rentals and stay for a month or more. Maybe you can ride out the worst of the pandemic here on Oahu where our infection numbers are much lower than most of the Mainland. Give us a call at (808) 726-2878 Ext 1, or you can book directly from our website if you prefer.

UPDATE TO HAWAII’S PRE-TRAVEL TESTING PROGRAM

It’s been a little over two weeks since Hawaii implemented their COVID-19 Pre-travel testing program. It started out a bit rocky with many people having to quarantine after arriving in Hawaii, due to delayed test results. I spoke with one traveler who waited a full ten days to get his test results. He then had to wait two more days after uploading the results to Hawaii’s website to get his official Quarantine Release.

With all this in mind, below are a few tips I found in the Honolulu Star Advertiser that may help speed you through the process.

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Tips for Hawaii Travelers who Want to Expedite Exemptions from Quarantine:

 

Safe Travels Hawaii Quick Facts

 

Doctor holding a stethoscope with the words "COVID-19 Testing"

Hawaii’s  pre-travel testing program for Trans-Pacific travelers is still on schedule to launch on Oct. 15, allowing trans-Pacific travelers to bypass quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19 before arriving. While the tests for travelers are slated to be available through Walgreens, CVS, Kaiser Permanente and other partners, some airlines are also rolling out their own testing programs to woo travelers back to air travel.

As of October 1, here are the airlines that have announced testing:

Alaska Airlines

Beginning: Oct. 12

Location: Seattle

Alaska Airlines is partnering with healthcare provider Carbon Health to offer rapid COVID-19 testing in pop-up clinics across the West Coasts, beginning Oct. 12 in Seattle.

Cost: $135 for Alaska flyers, and will be ready within two hours

Testing is available for Alaska passengers 3 months and older.

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American Airlines

Beginning: Oct. 15

Location: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

American Airlines will offer three options for pre-flight COVID-19 testing to customers with flights from DFW to Honolulu and Maui.

Cost: $129 for the at-home option. American will release details later on the cost of other options.

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Hawaiian Airlines

Beginning: “Around Oct. 15”

Location: Labs located near Los Angeles and San Francisco International airports

Hawaiian Airlines will offer a drive-thru PCR test to customers traveling from California to Hawaii. Hawaiian Airlines said that more testing locations will be announced later at “other U.S. mainland gateways.”

Cost:

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United Airlines

Beginning: Oct. 15

Location: San Francisco International Airport

Cost:

 

Location: Oakland Airport

 

Beginning: Oct. 15

Location: Facility at the airport’s North Field terminal complex, 9070 Earhart Road.

Oakland Airport officials have also announced they will launch their own pre-travel testing program for passengers. Free tests will be conducted by appointment only by CityHealth Urgent Care.

 

Information provided by Hawaii News Now on October 1. Below is a link to their video & story.

 

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/10/01/list-these-airlines-airport-will-offer-covid-tests-travelers-hawaii/

 

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