Two California travelers kicked out of Hawaii for faking COVID tests, police say

Two visitors from California accused of filing fake negative COVID-19 test results with authorities have been arrested in Hawaii, police reported.

The travelers, ages 34 and 33, both of Los Angeles, uploaded the fake results to the Hawaii Safe Travels program, according to a news release.

Travelers must submit vaccine cards or negative COVID-19 tests to visit the islands without quarantining.

The program flagged the fake tests, prompting an investigation by Hawaii authorities and the arrest Tuesday of the two suspects, police reported. They face a charge of unsworn falsification.

Following their arrests, police drove the two to the airport for a direct flight home, according to the release. No court date has been set.

More than 234 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide with more than 4.7 million deaths as of Oct. 3, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has had more than 43 million confirmed cases with more than 700,000 deaths.

Hawaii has had more than 79,000 cases with more than 800 deaths, according to the university.

This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Two California travelers kicked out of Hawaii for faking COVID tests, police say."