Hawaii Not Messing Around: Jails Man Over Breaking Quarantine
The COVID-19 crisis has lead to lots of different reactions by government agencies. Hawaii, for one, is not messing around. Yesterday they announced that they had jailed a man who violated the mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors.
They made a point to put out a press release, which has been widely covered in the news. It clearly states the crime, and that the individual, Tarique Peters, had posted pictures of his actions on Instagram. I believe I found the correct Tarique Peters on Instagram:
According to CNN, violating the quarantine rules are subject to a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Hawaii has laid out a detailed process of how arriving visitors will be treated during quarantine. It spells out how authorities will process visitors upon arrival. The process includes temperature checks and verification of where visitors will be staying. Procedures like this are easier to implement in an island state like Hawaii, versus trying to control the border between two neighboring states.
The Final Two Pennies
The press release from Hawaiian officials notes a few important details about how serious they’re taking this. It notes that residents reported his alleged violation of the quarantine order and that officials investigated it. The statement also notes that Mr. Peters was being held on $4,000 bail.
The article surprised me a bit initially. Jailing someone for violating quarantine is definitely a serious measure. But, getting resources to Hawaii to fight an outbreak is more complicated than in many places in North America. Whether you agree or disagree with the quarantine rules, one thing seems certain. I don’t think it’s a good idea to break quarantine rules in Hawaii.
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The US State Department needs to start issuing travel warning for the states. They could simply copy the State Department’s North Korea’s travel warning and use it for Hawaii.
He is not alone. Many others are coming and ignoring the quarantine rules, and endangering Hawaii residents. From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:
About 858 passengers came to Hawaii on Thursday, including 318 returning residents and 252 visitors.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority report indicated that while most visitors said they were arriving for business or to see family or friends, 12 of them said they came just for a vacation.
A lot of people have a brain but is turn off the need to turn on
Why in this world you want to travel right now ? There no excuse for this guy I am sure the told him when land at the airport to stay inside for 14 days
1 year of prison is not good Maybe 2 is better
It’s not the lockdown itself that has Americans being cranky. It the lockdown that could easily be avoided if we all did our part. We could distance ourselves, practice good hygiene, and police our own actions. But no, we have to be locked down because of idiots like this. Flaunting common sense and disregard for others is one thing, but only a true idiot would boast about it on social media.