The Honolulu Community College Modified Quarantine Program for the Fall 2021 semester is significantly different from the2020-2021 program. The Fall 2021 Modified Quarantine Program is limited to international students who do not have COVID-19 approved pre-travel testing available in their home country, and agree to take a test within 48 hours of arriving in Hawaiʻi.
The program is available in the three weeks prior to the beginning of the fall 2021 semester and three weeks after the start of the semester (six-week period in total from Monday, August 2 through Friday, September 10 for students to enter the program).
Students from other U.S. states will not be part of the program except in the most extenuating circumstances as vaccinations and pre-travel tests are readily available throughout the country.
Strong Recommendation
International students can avoid participating in the Modified Quarantine Program by stopping through a U.S. city that has pre-travel testing (e.g., Los Angeles, San Francisco), scheduling a layover and getting a COVID-19 test before flying on to Honolulu. This will avoid the Modified Quarantine.
International students in the Modified Quarantine Program must self-isolate for 10 days and are only allowed to leave their residence to take the COVID-19 test in the first 48 hours of their arrival in Honolulu, or for required medical attention. Following the university’s acceptance of a negative COVID-19 test result, students are allowed to engage in restricted university activities.
During this Bubble Quarantine (BQ) period, students’ activities and movements will be monitored by the University of Hawaiʻi.
Definitions
- Safe Travels Program: A multilayered process designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our community from trans-Pacific visitor and resident passengers arriving at airports/ports across the Islands. This enhanced entry into Hawaiʻi includes a pre-travel testing program, the Mandatory State of Hawaiʻi Travel and Health Form, and temperature screening at all Hawaiʻi airports upon arrival.
- Trusted Testing and Travel Partner (TTTP): The State of Hawaiʻi will ONLY accept Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from a specified list of Trusted Testing And Travel Partners.
- Modified Quarantine (MQ): A limited exemption to the state’s mandatory 10-day quarantine requirement for international University of Hawaiʻi students, registered to attend a UH campus. (Details above)
- Bubble Quarantine (BQ): Post-arrival, once a negative test result is accepted by Honolulu CC, students will move into a Bubble Quarantine (BQ) phase and will be able to attend limited university activities for the remainder of the 10-day mandatory quarantine period. During this BQ period, students are not permitted to interact with the general community.
How To Qualify For The Modified Quarantine Program For Out-Of-State Students
Students coming from countries that do not have Trusted Testing and Traveler Partners (TTTPs) or from cities where TTTPs are not available, or have other extenuating circumstances, may apply for the Modified Quarantine (MQ) program. Students coming/returning from out-of-country and are interested in the MQ Program they must fill out a survey and pre-travel agreement for completion and submission.
Click here for the survey and pre-travel agreement.
Students who successfully complete the survey and pre-travel agreement will be provided an electronic letter from Honolulu Community College that acknowledges preliminary acceptance into the MQ Program. This letter must be presented to transportation officials or state sheriffs when they arrive in Hawaiʻi. The letter should be carried at all times for 10 days after arrival.
Students accepted into the MQ program will be entered into the University of Hawaiʻi quarantine database and will be tracked and monitored by the University of Hawaiʻi.
Students accepted into the MQ program must travel directly from the Honolulu International Airport (HNL) to their quarantine site.
Post-arrival on Oʻahu, students must secure a COVID-19 test (refer to this list of testing centers). Once a negative test result is received, it must be submitted to honmq@hawaii.edu for review and evaluation. Once the negative test result is accepted by Honolulu Community College, students will receive an electronic notification from the Office of the Dean of Student Services indicating that student will be moved into a Bubble Quarantine (BQ) in which they will be able to attend limited university activities for the remainder of the 10-day mandatory quarantine period. During this BQ period, students are not permitted to interact with the general community. Students will continue to be tracked and monitored by the University of Hawaiʻi.
Students who are interested in the MQ program should apply immediately upon making travel arrangements to Oʻahu. Students should not delay in completing the process as successful completion can require a substantial amount of time.
State of Hawaiʻi Approved COVID-19 Test
In accordance with the State of Hawaiʻi COVID-19 Modified Quarantine Procedures for University Students, a State-approved COVID-19 Test is a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or PCR test, approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pursuant to the Emergency Use Authorization, that is conducted at a CLIA-licensed or certified test laboratory. Currently the Rapid Antigen, Antibody, and tests taken in foreign countries, are not approved tests by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health for the Modified Quarantine Program.
For the MQ Program, NAAT or PCR tests do not need to be from a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner.
COVID-19 Testing Sites on Oʻahu (Not Necessarily Trusted Testing and Travel Partners)
Go to hah.org and click on “COVID-19 Testing Sites” for more information on where to take a COVID-19 test and the different requirements for each testing site.
Mandatory Daily Health Screening and Weekly Check-Ins
All students in the Modified Quarantine Program will be required to conduct daily health checks and report them (via the LumiSight UH mobile app (Android, iOS, or web form) that monitors/screens for COVID-19 symptoms. Students in MQ must also complete daily location checks via the LumiSight UH mobile app. The university will phone every student periodically and ask a series of questions to ensure that students are following the requirements of the program. Both the daily check ins and phone calls will only take a few minutes each time. Students who do not complete the daily check in or cannot be reached for the phone calls will be subject to sanctions for violation of the university’s student conduct code, which could include suspension or expulsion.
Official University Activities
Once a student in the Modified Quarantine Program obtains a negative COVID-19 test result that is accepted by Honolulu Community College, the student will receive a confirmation that they have officially entered Bubble Quarantine (BQ). Students in BQ are able to participate in limited “university activities,” which are defined as attending or engaging in the following activities that occur exclusively on the Honolulu Community College campus:
- Class
- Labs
- Meetings
- Appointments
- Orientations
- Lectures, presentations, exhibitions
- Research activities
- Study groups
- Meals
- Transactions to be a student (e.g., in-person payments, secure an ID, transcript pick up, UPASS pick up, document drop off, etc.)
- Student support services (e.g., mental health counseling, academic advising, financial aid, etc.)
- On campus student employment
During the 10-day quarantine period, even after having tested negative for COVID-19, students are only allowed to leave their residence for the above official university activities or for required medical attention. Students are not permitted into the general community. Failure to comply will be subject to sanctions for violation of the university’s student conduct code, which could include suspension or expulsion.
Consequences for Violating Modified Quarantine Program
Students who violate the terms of the Modified Quarantine Program and the Pre-Travel Agreement will be subject to sanctions for violation of the university’s student conduct code, which could include suspension or expulsion. Violations of COVID-19 related emergency county and state orders are punishable by a fine up to $5,000 and/or up to a year in prison.
More Information on the Modified Quarantine Program
Email honmq@hawaii.edu for any questions concerning the Modified Quarantine Program.
Other resources include:
- Honolulu Community College Admissions
- The State of Hawaiʻi’s COVID-19 Pre-Travel Testing program for Hawaiʻi Inbound Travelers and Inter-Island Travel.
- Honolulu Community College COVID-19 Resource Page
