Two travelers from Louisiana attempted to enter Hawaii without showing the required negative COVID-19 test results, and attempting to evade quarantine.
The pair, 29-year-old Johntrell White and 28-year-old Nadia Bailey, arrived at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Feb. 13, and tried to bribe their way past security.
According to Hawaii’s attorney general, Claire Connors, “White allegedly told an airport screener he would give her $2,000 to pass through without having to quarantine. Bailey also allegedly told the same screener she would throw in an additional $1,000 to let them both through without quarantining.”
The airport screener reported White and Bailey to police, and the two were placed under arrest and face bribery charges. They were later released and sent on a flight back home. The Attorney General continues to investigate the case.
Hawaii currently requires a mandatory ten-day quarantine for all incoming visitors entering the islands. The only way to bypass this requirement is to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test from one of Hawaii’s approved testing partners.
The state is strict in enforcing its COVID-19 requirements. The same day White and Bailey were arrested, another visitor, Anthony Johnson of Michigan, was arrested for failing to arrive at the hotel he was scheduled to quarantine at.
Instead, he went to a different hotel and went swimming. His original hotel reported him to police and he was later found and arrested near Kailua Beach.
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