Wherever you land on the scale, from extreme mask-wearing to no masks at any time, you likely don’t approach the level of selfishness displayed by a Hawaii couple.
After testing positive for the coronavirus, Wesley Moribe, 41, and Courtney Paterson, 46, of Wailua, Hawaii, jumped on a plane anyway and traveled from San Francisco to Kauai on a United Airlines flight Sunday that took almost six hours.
They were arrested and now face charges of “reckless endangering” after they put fellow passengers in a dangerous situation, according to a Kauai Police Department statement. “They knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive COVID-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death,” said Coco Zickos, a Kauai Police spokesperson.
After the positive tests in California, the two were told to isolate. Instead of doing so, “rather than quarantining and contacting their health provider, they went on the plane,” a spokesperson for the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center told NBC News.
Upon their arrival at Lihue Airport, Moribe and Paterson were escorted by authorities to an isolation room to be processed and questioned. They each posted $1,000 bail. They traveled with a 4-year-old child who, after Child Protective Services was notified, was released to a family member, CNN reported.
“The Kauai Police Department, working alongside our county and state partners, remain diligent in protecting the health and safety of our island,” said Kauai Police Chief Todd G. Raybuck in a statement. “We continue to request visitors and residents alike to follow the Governor’s Emergency Rules and take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
The two have been banned from flying on United Airlines flights and the airline is investigating the incident, a United spokesperson said Wednesday.
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