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City continues offering free COVID-19 testing at Honolulu airport lab amid increased demand

JAMM AQUINO / AUG. 12
                                People wait in line for COVID-19 testing at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
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JAMM AQUINO / AUG. 12

People wait in line for COVID-19 testing at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

City officials today announced that the mobile testing lab at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport will continue offering Oahu residents free COVID-19 tests in response to increased demand, but will be switching to antigen tests starting Monday.

On Monday, the PCR tests will still be available, but are no longer free. They are available for a $140 fee. The antigen tests, however, are available for free to Oahu residents and city employees.

Officials said these “point-of-care antigen tests” have emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, are minimally invasive, and can provide reliable and faster results. They identify acute infection with an 88.4% sensitivity and 100% specificity rate, and will be accepted for city employees that qualified for a medical or religious exemption from Honolulu’s vaccine requirement.

To get tested, Oahu residents must pre-register under the city pre-paid section at oahucitypass.lumisight.com and receive a QR code. No walk-ins will be accepted.

Those who register will be required to bring a valid state ID displaying their Oahu address and zip code.

The city’s mobile lab is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including holidays, in the Diamond Head Tour Group Area just past baggage claim 31 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. The closest parking is at the Terminal 2 Parking Garage. Parking is not validated by the test site.

The testing program is made possible through an agreement with the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii Consortium.

For more information, call 833-560-0997, email covidresponse@kidneyhi.org or visit kidneyhi.org.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that PCR mid-turbinate tests would no longer be available at the airport testing site, based on information provided by a City and County of Honolulu news release. The PCR tests are still available for a fee of $140.
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