Tourist Found Dead In Hawaii While Defying Quarantine Rules

A tourist from Oklahoma that was meant to adhere to Hawaii’s 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving at the state was pronounced dead after being found unconscious in the ocean.

The Honolulu coroner identified him as Kristopher Michael Oliphant of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The cause of death is still pending.

The 39-year-old arrived on June 7 and should have remained in quarantine until Sunday. However, he opted to check out of his hotel Wednesday, according to Jessica Rich, the president of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, that assists tourists in distress. Her firm reached out to his family that was in Oklahoma.

A fisherman found the victim's body after 5 p.m. Wednesday and proceeded to call emergency services after that. According to Fox News, Ocean Safety Workers brought Oliphant into Maunalua Bay, where he was pronounced dead.

The arriving tourists and residents in quarantine are not allowed to leave the hotel rooms or residences for anything except in the event of medical emergencies.

The quarantine has unfortunately shut down the tourism-dependent economy of Hawaii, but it has also assisted the islands in having low rates of infection as compared to other parts of the continental United States, which have witnessed skyrocketing numbers during the last four months.

Thus far, there have been 816 confirmed cases in Hawaii. Of that number, 669 have already recovered, and there have been 17 deaths thus far. That means there are still 130 active cases, which is much better than the rates in other states.

The main concentration of the cases has been Honolulu County, with 557 confirmed cases, while the least cases were registered in Kauai County.

Hawaii Island itself has only recorded 83 confirmed cases, of which 81 have already recovered. There were no fatalities recorded.