Many arriving passengers faced long waits as state officials checked to be sure all arrivals had answered a health questionnaire, had their temperatures taken and shown proof of a negative COVID test, at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
Kent Nishimura/Getty ImagesTwo tourists were arrested last Friday after they allegedly tried to bribe an airport screener at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
Officials said that Johntrell White, 29, of Simmesport, La., and Nadia Bailey, 28, of Baton Rouge, La., arrived in Hawaii without COVID-19 test results, triggering a required 10-day quarantine. White then allegedly offered an airport screener $2,000 to enter without requiring quarantine, and Bailey allegedly offered the screener an additional $1,000 to allow them both to enter.
Hawaii’s Safe Travels program requires visitors to take a COVID-19 test 72 hours before the arrival flight. A negative result allows visitors to skip a 10-day quarantine for most islands in Hawaii. Some counties also require a second COVID-19 test after arrival for those who bypass quarantine.
The airport screener alerted deputy sheriffs to the alleged bribery attempt, and both White and Bailey were arrested. After their arrest, they were booked and released, and immediately flew back to the mainland, officials said.
Hawaii’s Attorney General’s Office is continuing to investigate the matter.
This is not the first time tourists have tried to skip out on Hawaii’s quarantine rules, which are stricter than those on the mainland.
A Michigan man, 44-year-old Anthony Johnson of Rouge River, was also arrested on Feb. 12 after his Waikiki hotel alerted officials that he had not appeared at his designated place of quarantine. Johnson had reportedly checked into another hotel in the area in an attempt to bypass the quarantine rules before officials arrested him at a boat landing, officials said. Bail was set at $2,000.
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