Rogue Tourists Arrested in Hawaii for Violating Quarantine Orders

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hawaii has been rather stringent in its efforts to minimize the spread of the virus on the islands. Governor David Ige began implementing targeted containment measures in mid-March and has continued to issue new directives as the crisis escalated.

According to AP News, Hawaii’s restrictions are now the most stringent of any U.S. state and have successfully kept the islands’ infection count relatively low. As of May 8, 2020, Hawaii has reported 629 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, 17 deaths and 565 patients that have recovered.

Hawaii continues to enforce a mandatory, fourteen-day, self-quarantine rule issued by the governor, which applies to all arrivals, be they returning residents or visitors. Arrivals are instructed to proceed directly to their residence or rented lodgings, and are obliged to shelter in place without leaving their designated quarantine location for any reason, save for medical emergencies. That means no lounging on the beach, no using pools or recreational facilities, no grocery shopping and no housekeeping services in hotels.

While these policies, plus the closure of most businesses and all attractions, might seem enough to discourage the arrival of visitors amid the pandemic, it seems that cheap airfares are still encouraging some to come to Hawaii. Since the self-quarantine requirement’s implementation on March 26, around 5,000 visitors have landed on the islands (in contrast to the 30,000 people that arrived daily pre-pandemic).

Hawaiian authorities are serious about monitoring the movements of visitors to ensure they’re complying with quarantine guidelines, though there are still some tourists who insist on flouting the official orders, visiting beaches, riding personal watercraft, using hotel pools, going shopping and going for take-out food.

Reportedly, at least 20 of these rogue tourists have thus far been arrested statewide on charges of quarantine violation, with many others issued warnings or citations for their misconduct. Violating the terms of the mandatory quarantine order comes at a hefty cost: a penalty of up to $5,000, up to a year in prison or both.

The latest instance of blatant disregard for the rules involved a honeymooning, California couple—Borice Lepovskiy (20) and Yuliia Andreichenko (26)—who last week left their Waikiki hotel room repeatedly, claiming that airport staff had told them they’d be allowed to go the beach and to visit, although a front desk manager at their hotel reviewed the conditions of the quarantine order with them. The newlyweds decided to go out, returning to check in only after midnight, pizza in hand, and refusing to sign a quarantine agreement. The next morning, they again left their room and were arrested upon their return, according to the state.

Authorities are employing various tactics to monitor tourists, contacting arrivals’ hotels to verify their accommodations and alerting them to the guests’ arrival. The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Hawaii Tourism Authority workers are running a call center, which follows up numerous times to verify that visitors are remaining quarantined. When a visitor can’t be reached where they’re supposed to be sheltering, law enforcement is contacted.

Mufi Hannemann, President and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, revealed that hotels are being instructed to issue room keys that function only upon check-in, so that guests must request new ones at the front desk any time they leave their rooms—sending up a red flag that they may be violating quarantine policies.

“I am, quite frankly, quite surprised that people would still want to come because this is not the Hawaii that you’ve dreamed about, that you want to experience,” expressed Hannemann. “There’s a lot of attractions that are closed. Everyone is walking around with masks. You know, we’re just not going to demonstrate that spirit of aloha that you’ve heard so much about…So, to me, it’s just crazy for someone to still want to come here.”

Hawaiian officials have reportedly even considered requiring visitors to wear GPS ankle monitors during their quarantine, though the idea has yet to be implemented. Honolulu City Councilmember, Kym Pine, who advocates for tracking via their cellphones or requiring that they test negative the virus before boarding Hawaii-bound flights, expressed shock and dismay at those who’d ignore the rules. “The people that are coming don’t care about us. They’re coming to Hawaii on the cheap and they obviously could care less whether they get the virus or not,” she said. “So, they obviously could care less about that mom and dad who have no job and no food.”