2 tourists are facing $5000 fine and possible jail time after presenting fake COVID-19 vaccination cards while traveling to Oahu, Hawaii.

The island of Oahu has become a tourist hot spot for eager travelers seeking to escape from the vestiges of the pandemic that have completely altered their ways of living. More and more COVID-19 spikes are occurring daily in Hawaii, and these alarming rates have led to the overflowing of hospitals and more infected locals. Hawaii reported over 1,000 new cases following Friday the 13th, and this uptick in coronavirus cases has led to foreign travelers finding illegitimate ways to show their vaccine proof.

The massive influx of coronavirus patients on the islands are coming from unvaccinated individuals, and 2 unvaccinated travelers presented fake COVID-19 vaccination cards to bypass the mandatory 10-day quarantine.

Beforehand, Hawai’i tourism sector was only allowing tourists to enter the tropical island if they had proof of a negative COVID-19 test but since the rise of COVID-19 cases, a vaccine card is mandated to skip the quarantine.

These individuals are now facing up to a $5000 fine and one year in prison for violating Hawaii’s Safe Travels Program. The state’s Governor, David Ige, remained firm on the arrest of these tourists to lead an example of Hawaii’s unshakable COVID-19 restrictions. More and more travelers are looking to Hawaii as a form of escapism, and this has caused tension between locals and the thousands of tourists who vacation on the islands every day.

Majorly populated cities in the United States are starting to enforce vaccination card proof in order to enter public indoor venues and communal spaces. This is to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in more vulnerable communities, and people are discovering loopholes to go out more.

To avoid this, Hawaii will be continuing to monitor passenger’s vaccination documents more closely and will follow suit with protective measures to ensure their citizens are safe.

Although travelers who enter Hawai’i legally are capable of traveling between the various islands without having to provide vaccine proof or a negative COVID-19 test. Over 400,000 travelers visited Hawai’i in April 2021 and those numbers are continuing to climb throughout the weeks while Hawaii’s tourism authorities are navigating through the obstacles that are arising when they place more COVID-19 restrictions on public activities.

This example of travelers presenting falsified documents to go on a travel excursion that may be subjected to jail time will surely frighten those who are attempting to do the same.

Related: What This Black Married Couple Learned Attending A Hawaii Relationship Summit

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