A Hawaiian couple were arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment after they boarded a flight while reportedly being aware they had COVID-19.
Wesley Moribe and Courney Peterson were traveling home with their child Sunday from San Francisco to Lihue Airport on Kauai when authorities discovered they had tested positive for COVID-19 in a pre-travel screening, a Kauai police spokesperson told NBC News in a statement Wednesday.
Officials said the couple had been taken to a quarantine station at San Francisco International Airport and told not to board their United Airlines flight.
“They knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive COVID-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death,” Kauai police said, according to Hawaii News Now.
Police said the two were stopped after arriving at the Lihue Airport. They were released after posting bail of $1,000 each.
Their 4-year-old child was taken home by a family member.
The couple’s close contacts are being identified and directed to get tested and quarantine, the Kauai Department of Health told ABC News in a statement.
Hawaii requires all passengers entering the state to upload negative test results to the Safe Travels website prior to departure in order to avoid a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival.
Passengers who receive a positive test result are not allowed to fly.
“Following CDC guidelines, you will not be able to travel on United for at least 10 days after the date you tested positive and only after you have two successive negative COVID-19 results that were administered at least 24 hours apart,” the United Airlines website states.
Hawaii has reported 18,342 COVID-19 cases and 244 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
