Tourist who flouted Hawaii quarantine drowns in ocean
Scores of tourists in Hawaii have been fined and deported for flouting strict quarantine rules but one has paid the ultimate price.
Kristopher Michael Oliphant, 39, of Tulsa, Oklahoma died last week after being found unresponsive in the ocean.
Drowning was the likely cause although the Honolulu medical examiner’s office has yet to give an official cause of death.
According to Jessical Lani Rich, president of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, Oliphant was due to complete his quarantine Sunday but checked out of his Waikiki hotel a few days earlier and broke the quarantine.
"We were called to assist in this case. It was very sad," Rich said.
Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii is an organization which assists out-of-state visitors in need.
Hawaii has some of the strictest quarantine rules in the country with fines and deportation for wilful violators.
Still, there have been dozens of violations over the past few weeks, with some caught out due to posting photos of their illicit daytime trips to the beach on social media.
As of late last week, 762 people have tested positive for Covid-19 and 17 people have died so far.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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