hans

When I asked my Kaiser physician about testing even if I was asymptotic, he asked if it was for travel and then approved an appointment. Perhaps it was because it was in the middle of an annual checkup.

Erasmus

Yeah, KP is PCP-driven: if you can convince your doc, you're golden. I'll ask again tomorrow when I go in for yet another KP COVID test if they've changed their stance on asymptomatic testing for Hawaii. Maybe I'll even show them Hawaii's webpage

Klxp2016

This is getting crazy. We will see how this plays out on October 15th. If it’s still a mess by November 15th. I will be canceling also. Disappointed.

Weatherboy

His ground rule was Mayors get to decide for their islands.

If he just worked with the mayors to establish a reopen date rather than spring a surprise that 10/15 was it before resolving interisland restrictions and developing a plan that allows residents to travel, there'd be a lot less friction to this issue.

adambadam

Do you have to test through one of the testing partners? The FAQ are exceptionally vague on this. The first question make its seem like no (any authorized lab is okay) but the testing partner question make it seem like those are the only allowable sources. Does anyone know?

Erasmus

Nobody knows. As you point out, the "official" statements and materials keep going back and forth. Given the track record, until somebody actually arrives on 10/15 with a test from a CLIA non-partner and tries, we won't know for sure. Even then, I imagine it may very well be YMMV--lord knows that was certainly the case with test verification in Alaska when we visited in July.

kyee

Regarding the question on how to get the Walgreen's test: I'm in the SF Bay Area. All I did was go to the Walgreen's website, and answered all the questions that came up. I answered truthfully, saying I had no symptoms, hadn't been around anyone contagious, etc, and it said I qualified for free testing, and I picked my time and date. I did all that last week Wednesday, and my test was this past Saturday, with results coming 2 days after that. I fly back to HNL on Oct 15. I went back to the Walgreen's website today, and it appears to only let you schedule a max of 3 days in advance. I'll try to schedule it on 10/10, to get tested on 10/13, for my flight on 10/15. That'll give me a 48 hour window. I'm still checking online to see when there's more info on the CVS Hawaii Covid testing scheduling, I can't find anything concrete.

LIH Prem

If you test positive, I think you're already required to quarantine by the DOH.

They will certainly be some hiccups and adjustments that need to be made. It's not like 10,000 visitors are going to land on the islands in the first day or weeks starting 10/15. If you're an early adapter, things are likely to be confusing in the beginning.

-David

Weatherboy

The most peculiar thing is the lieutenant governor said if someone tested positive in their second after-landing test, not only would they not need to quarantine, but Hawaii may not even let them know they tested positive unless they opted-in to receive such information.

No Quarantine for Positive 2nd Test Patients

The fact this latest second test idea is coming from a doctor shows just what a crazy show the "leaders" in Honolulu are putting on with regards to this whole testing scheme.

LIH Prem

I understand Green's point (blind scientific statistics), but I don't agree with it, despite allowing the participant to opt-in to get a result. The public interest seems to mandate a notification and response for a positive result otherwise the result is potentially more community spread.

Green's point is they are doing the secondary test to statistically determine how many infected people are making it through the first 72 hour prior to departure test so they can adjust the program when it becomes necessary. I don't think that's a terrible plan but what is ethically correct when you find an asymptomatic positive test result? That's what it comes down to.

-David

mtofell

From a statistics standpoint I understand the concept of not requiring them to quarantine since the whole point of the second test is to study the population. But I agree notifying people is probably the right thing to do (and likely why it's an option to get notified). An analogy I'd give is gathering data on how many people are speeding on a given stretch of freeway. Speeders are counted but not ticketed. And that's probably not even the best analogy but just one that came to mind.

I honestly don't care what the hell they do.... just figure something out!!!

DELee

Another question is: If secondary test is "positive" and you immediately take another test that says "negative" (i.e. possible false positive), what's the adjudication process?

David

Klxp2016

FYI: Just checked out Quest Diagnostic website, pretty simple. It’s $119.00 out of pocket, and you answer some questions. It’s close to where I live, so that should work. The turn around should be 1 or 2 days. Only, question I have would be age of minors for testing. Is there an age limit cutoff, or do all kids traveling with their parents need to be tested? Also, I think the price of this may deter people from going. A family of 5 would almost be $600.00.

Weatherboy

Anyone over 5 years old must be tested. So if they're 4 years 11 months old, they're off the hook.

Not every testing entity will test people under 12.

Some good news if you want to go to Kauai; the mayor there has decided to opt into the pre-travel test quarantine program. But he put forth a proposal that would kill it if the number of COVID cases on the island grows to 5-8 over a 7 day period.

https://www.kitv.com/story/42743355/...-for-reopening

Josh Green today said that the test MUST be one of their partners and that a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab will be rejected if it is not an official partner. He said they hope to update their website with this language soon.

He also said they rejected American Airlines and their testing partners. Why? I don't know. What the timeline is to remedy it? No one knows.

On another testing front, Maui submitted another proposal (their 2nd this week) for a post-landing test. The governor rejected it again this afternoon and said they must accept the single test or opt out. On Hawaii Island, a mayoral candidate is in support of Harry Kims multi-testing plan and wants to employ a 3-test program too. If the governor is rejecting Maui and Kauai's plans, I don't know how a 3-test program will get approved. But he is encouraging his supporters to support Kim's opting out, which will muddy the waters in the short term.

MSPeconomist

How long is a layover? My only reference point is the Anthony Bourdain series of that name which seemed to take the term layover to mean a long weekend. If they mean connection, this should be stated, although technically a connection requires a single ticket. Also, maximum connecting times are different for domestic versus international itineraries. Why not just state the scheduled time limit at HNL and maybe also clarify policy for cases when IROPs extends the time that must be spend at HNL.