Tourist who broke quarantine drowned in Hawaii’s Spitting Caves, reports say

A fisherman spotted an unresponsive man in Hawaii’s Spitting Caves Wednesday and called 911, KHON reported.

After Honolulu first responders recovered the man and pronounced him dead at the scene, the Medical Examiner identified him as Kristopher Oliphant, 39, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to the KHON.

Under a state order that was put in place in late March, all residents and visitors arriving in Hawaii are required to quarantine for 14 days, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. A violation of the order is considered a criminal offense.

Oliphant reportedly told authorities when he arrived in Hawaii that he would spend his mandated 14-day quarantine in his hotel room, but he checked out and broke quarantine 10 days in, the Star Advertiser and KITV reported.

“You know, it’s difficult being in quarantine for a lot of people,” Jessica Lani Rich, president and CEO of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, told KITV. “I guess he wanted to go enjoy the ocean, and he did, but very sadly it cost him his life.”

Since the COVID-19 Flight Assistance Program started in early April, Rich says the society has sent 115 visitors home, KITV reported. The program helps visitors unable to complete quarantine or those who violate quarantine to return home, according to the Advertiser.

“Today (June 18) we sent four visitors home to Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York,” Rich told the Advertiser. “Earlier this week, we sent home 21 members of the cult Carbon Nation. It’s been my busiest week ever.”

There have been 789 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hawaii, the Star-Advertiser reports, and 17 deaths. The state has a population of 1.4 million, which is a little bigger than Maine (1.35 million), which has had 2,913 confirmed cases and 102 deaths.