Rogue tourists arrested in Hawaii
HONOLULU — Hawaii authorities are cracking down on rogue tourists who are visiting beaches, riding personal watercraft, shopping and generally flouting strict requirements that they quarantine for 14 days after arriving.
A newlywed California couple left their Waikiki hotel room repeatedly, despite being warned by hotel staff, and were arrested. Others have been arrested at a hotel pool, loading groceries into a vehicle outside a Costco and bringing take-out food back to a hotel room.
The rules, the strictest in any U.S. state, have helped keep infections relatively low. As of Wednesday, Hawaii reported 626 coronavirus cases and 17 deaths.
The shutdown has devastated the islands’ economy, which is hugely dependent on tourism. Since March 26, when Hawaii put the rules in place, about 5,000 visitors have arrived, compared with pre-pandemic times when about 30,000 came daily.
That has left the state with crushing unemployment, estimated to be in the range of 25 per cent to 35 per cent. More than 100 hotels have suspended operations and workers laid off from their jobs wait in long lines at food distribution sites.
It makes those who ignore the rules especially offensive, said Honolulu city council member Kym Pine, who wants travellers tracked via their cellphones or tested for the virus before boarding planes for Hawaii.
“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.”
While in quarantine in a hotel room or residence, people aren’t allowed to leave for anything other than medical emergencies. That means no grocery shopping, no strolls on the beach, no hotel services.
When the honeymooning couple from California, arrived at their hotel last week, a front-desk manager read them the quarantine order, but they claimed airport staff told them it would be OK to visit friends and go to beaches. They left the hotel.
According to the state, they returned and refused to sign a quarantine agreement.
In the morning, they left their room and were arrested when they returned.
They’re among at least 20 people arrested statewide on charges of violating the quarantine, and many others have received warnings or citations. Anyone convicted of violating the emergency rule faces a fine of up to $5,000 US, a year in jail, or both.
Hotels are being told to issue room keys that are only operable for checking in, so that when guests leave the room they have to go to the front desk to ask for a new one — a signal they have left their room in violation of the quarantine, said Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association.
When travellers arrive, officials verify their accommodation arrangements by contacting hotels directly, the state said.
A man from California was supposed to be in quarantine, but was spotted at Oahu’s famed North Shore. He was later followed to a Costco, where agents from the state attorney general’s office arrested him.
“I am, quite frankly, quite surprised that people would still want to come because this is not the Hawaii that you’ve dreamed about,” said Hannemann. “We’re just not going to demonstrate that spirit of aloha that you’ve heard so much about.”