Two Florida men illegally traveled in Hawaii, cops say. Kauai mayor called them ‘covidiots.’
Hawaii’s Kaua’i Mayor Derek Kawakami had only one word to describe those illegally traveling to his city: “covidiots.”
Two Florida men —Bobby Edwards of Boynton Beach and Dwight Anthony Tucker of Tampa — are accused of disregarding Hawaii’s mandatory order that required visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“These folks are covidiots and it’s not going to be tolerated,” Kawakami said Saturday during his daily COVID-19 update.
Edwards, 31, was arrested April 3 at the Līhu‘e Airport after Kaua’i police said he “was unable to produce acceptable proof of lodging.” His belligerence and seemingly intoxicated behavior also led to him being charged with disorderly conduct in addition to violating an emergency order.
Three days earlier, 62-year-old Tucker was arrested and charged with flouting the emergency order. Officers said they discovered him roughly 24 miles away from his hotel in Kapa’a.
Both men face a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to one year in jail if convicted, according to police.
Florida residents weren’t the only visitors flouting the statewide order. Devin Martin of Olympia, Washington, faces a similar charge following his April 2 arrest at the airport. The 50-year-old “refused to find suitable lodging” for his self-quarantine, police said.
“I guess there’s varying degrees of how much of a covidiot you can be,” Kawakami told the Associated Press. “Those three rank pretty high. I would say they rank pretty high to try to run away from a state that has a high number of people that are ill to come to Hawaii where we’ve been working hard. Everybody’s sacrificing.”
With coronavirus fears driving down flight prices, many will want to capitalize. Kawakami hopes these three instances discourage travelers wanting to wait out the pandemic in the sunshine.
“Health and safety … are paramount,” he added. “There is nothing more important than protecting our people and we’re willing to fight for it.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Two Florida men illegally traveled in Hawaii, cops say. Kauai mayor called them ‘covidiots.’."
