Philippine Airlines Included as a Trusted Testing Partner in Hawaii’s Safe Travels Program :  Philcongen Honolulu Hopes for the Revitalization of Travel and Tourism Between Philippines and Hawaii   

HONOLULU, 14 July 2021 -  “The State of Hawaii’s decision to accredit and include laboratory partners of Philippine Airlines (PAL) in Hawaii’s Safe Travels Program is a most welcome development, and one that has been anticipated by many,” said Consul General Joselito A. Jimeno as he welcomed the inclusion of Philippine Airlines as a Trusted Testing Partner in the State of Hawaii’s Safe Travels Program.

Consul General Jimeno conveyed appreciation to key officials including State of Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige and the Philippine Airlines leadership for realizing the Philippines’ inclusion in the program. “In this milestone year of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the United States, this recent positive development is a testament to the strength of Philippines-Hawaii relations and the friendship between our people,” he said.

The Consul General also expressed hopes for the revitalization of travel and tourism between the Philippines and Hawaii with the expansion of Hawaii’s Safe Travels pre- travel testing program to the Philippines. According to the American Community Survey of 2019, over 370,000 persons in Hawaii are of Filipino descent, making up 26 percent of the state’s total population.

The State of Hawaii Safe Travels program is designed to prevent the spread of COVID- 19 in the community from trans-Pacific passengers arriving at airports and ports across the islands. It includes the required online State of Hawaii Travel and Health Form, temperature screening at all Hawaii airports upon arrival, and the mandatory 10-day quarantine with the possibility of a vaccination exception, or a negative pre-travel test to bypass quarantine.

Governor Ige announced on 9 July 2021 that starting 15 July 2021 travelers from the Philippines may bypass the state’s mandatory 10-day quarantine if they take a COVID- 19 test from a trusted testing partner in the Philippines. The test should be taken 72 hours before departure and a negative test result should be uploaded into the Safe Travels Program digital platform prior to departure. The hard copy of the test result should also be presented on arrival.

Accredited laboratories which partnered with PAL include Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Mandaluyong City; Safeguard DNA Diagnostic, Inc., Mandaluyong City; Cardinal Santos Medical Center, San Juan City; Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, Bacolod City and St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc., General Santos City.

Further Information on the Philippines’ inclusion in the Safe Travel’s Program is available on the following link: http://www.phiiippineairiines.com/en/ph/Home/COVlD- END

For more information, visit https://honolulupcg.dfa.gov.ph/ and https://www.facebook.com/PHinHonolulu/