Family board plane to Hawaii after testing positive for Covid 19

San Francisco Airport introduced a rapid testing test centres ahead of Thanksgiving travel. Photo / Scott Strazzante, Getty Images

A family were arrested on arrival to a Hawaiian airport, having boarded a plane in the knowledge they were carrying Covid-19.

Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson boarded a service from San Francisco with their four-year-old son, after testing positive for coronavirus. The airport recently stepped up their same-day testing capacity in anticipation for the Thanksgiving travel season.

The family were returning home on the Sunday, but were instructed by a Quarantine Station at the San Francisco International Airport not to travel and to isolate from other passengers, said a report from Hawaii's Kauai Police Department.

Police spokesperson for Kauai police told NBC News the couple knew the results of the test, but boarded anyway. The couple "knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive Covid-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death," she said.

The couple were intercepted at Lihue Airport and charged with "second-degree reckless endangerment charges" which could carry $2000 in fines and up to a year in jail. Moribe, 41, and Peterson, 46, were later released into quarantine on $1000 bail, each.

The child was left in the care of a family member, in spite of the parents' positive test results. Child Protective Services were notified according to the police statement.

The island's police chief urged all residents to follow emergency rules and "take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19".

Carrier United Airlines website says the requirements for test results depends on destination and the airline accepts self-administered test results up to 72 hours prior to travel and digital lab results up to 48 hours before boarding.

However, this is further complicated by Hawaii's own requirements for pre-screening passengers. Travellers have to receive a negative result from a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from one of the state's trusted testing partners, in order to bypass two weeks' quarantine on arrival.

Same-day tests were introduced for travellers between San Francisco and Hawaii, at a cost of $250per test.

The website says passengers returning positive results "won't be able to fly at that time and should contact your local healthcare provider."

The airline says it will rebook passengers refused board at no extra charge, but requires two additional tests returned negative at least 24 hours apart.