Travelers arrested on Kauai for fake COVID test results

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HONOLULU — Hawaii authorities arrested two people from California for submitting fake COVID-19 test results to avoid a mandatory traveler quarantine meant to curb the virus’ spread in the islands.

A 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman uploaded falsified negative test results into the Hawaii Safe Travels portal and arrived in Lihue on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles earlier this week, Kauai police said.

After they were arrested, they were released pending investigation and caught a flight back to Los Angeles.

The woman declined to comment Friday, but the man couldn’t immediately be reached.

Travelers entering Hawaii must quarantine for 10 days unless they have been fully vaccinated in the United States or test negative for COVID-19 before departing for the islands.

Hawaii authorities have been arresting people who violate travel rules, including a woman from Illinois investigators said uploaded a fake vaccination card that misspelled Moderna as “Maderna.”