Hawaii will fine self-quarantine violators $5,000 or send them to prison
Scottie Andrew, CNN
Stella Chan, CNN
People surf on Oahu's North Shore near Haleiwa, Hawaii, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Hawaii Gov. David Ige is further tightening travel restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus by ordering people moving between islands to adhere to a 14-day self-quarantine. The order takes effect at midnight on Wednesday. It won't apply to essential workers like health care workers traveling to other islands.The order comes a week after the governor ordered everyone arriving in the state from other states or overseas to follow the same two-week quarantine. He's also ordered everyone in the state to stay at home for the next month.(AP Photo/Caleb Jones) (Caleb Jones, AP)
HONOLULU – If you were thinking of riding out the pandemic in sunny Hawaii, think again: Anyone traveling between the state's islands must quarantine themselves for two weeks.
And breaking that quarantine order to gulp some fresh air could earn you a hefty fine -- or a prison sentence.
In this case, quarantined people cannot leave their hotel rooms or receive visitors. People traveling for health care aren't required to quarantine themselves, though they must follow the social distancing measures laid out in a previous supplementary proclamation.
“The dangers of Covid-19 require the serious attention, effort, and sacrifice of all people in the State to avert unmanageable strains on our healthcare system and other catastrophic impacts on the State,” the recent proclamation read.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.