(CNN) — Hawaii may soon require travelers arriving from other US states and territories to have a Covid booster shot if they want to travel to the islands without quarantine or testing requirements.
That could mean that domestic travelers who have not had booster shots may have to take a Covid-19 test before arriving in Hawaii or isolate for five days upon arrival in Hawaii at their own expense.
Vaccinated US travelers with proof of vaccination do not currently have to test or quarantine. Unvaccinated American travelers can visit Hawaii with a negative Covid-19 test to bypass a mandatory quarantine.
Currently, there are vaccination and testing requirements for international tourists, in line with broader US rules.
Domestic tourism is regulated through the state’s Safe Travels program, where people can upload their vaccination records to the online portal ahead of their flight.
“We know that the community needs time to react to that, so we would have to provide at least two weeks for those who may not be up to date to have the opportunity to go and get vaccinated if they need to,” Ige told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the state’s largest newspaper.
Ige also said that he is in touch with local hospitality partners around the islands about the possibility of requiring booster shots for people who attend public events and gatherings, but there are no such rules in place yet.
The CDC does not have any guidance about whether booster shots should be required for international or domestic travel.
However, some countries and territories have started to mandate a third dose of a Covid vaccine for their residents and/or visitors.
Hawaii has had a relatively low number of coronavirus cases since the onset of the pandemic.
As of January 2022, the state has reported 166,008 cases and just 1,123 deaths. About 75% of eligible adults have received two shots of an approved vaccine.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly characterized possible changes around traveling to Hawaii and the current rules for international travel. The top of this story has been updated to correct those errors.