Couple arrested for flying to Hawaii despite positive COVID-19 tests

10 min readDec 3, 2020

A couple was arrested at a Hawaii airport for traveling on a flight from California despite knowing they were infected with COVID-19, authorities said. Wesley Moribe, 41, and Courtney Peterson, 46, boarded a United Airlines flight to Lihue with a 4-year-old child after San Francisco International Airport officials told them Sunday to isolate themselves and avoid the flight, the Kauai Police Department said.

Police escorted the couple to a designated isolation room after the plane landed, where they were arrested on suspicion of second-degree reckless endangering.

The residents of Wailua on Kauai were released after posting $1,000 bail each.

The child was released into the care of a family member and the Child Protective Services division of the state Department of Human Services was notified.

Moribe and Peterson took COVID-19 detection tests before the flight as part of Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program, officials said.

They both tested positive for the virus and were taken to the San Francisco airport’s quarantine station and told not to fly.

“They knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive COVID-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death,” Kauai police said.

Democratic Gov. David Ige last week approved Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami’s request to temporarily allow the island to opt out of the state testing program.

The policy scheduled to take effect Wednesday requires travelers to Kauai to spend 14 days in quarantine regardless of whether they obtain a negative COVID-19 test.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

Initial vaccine distribution will cover fraction of health care workers

Even if all goes according to the federal government’s plan for rolling out a coronavirus vaccine, many jurisdictions will initially receive just a fraction of the doses they’ll need to cover their health care workers.

For example, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area has been told by state officials to expect 19,000 doses, which is enough to fully vaccinate around 9,500 people, since the vaccine calls for a course of two doses taken 21 days apart. A source in the Twin Cities says it needs 57,000 doses just to cover its frontline healthcare workers.

Earlier this week, the nation’s governors began to learn the number of doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine that they should expect to receive when it begins to ship.

In a document obtained by CBS News, officials with the U.S. vaccine effort, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, say they are targeting December 14 as the day by which Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will receive emergency use authorization from the FDA. They say 6.4 million doses will be ready to ship within 24 hours of emergency approval.

The number of doses a state receives will be based on its 18-and-older population.

Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, voiced her disappointment in the number of doses her state would receive in the initial federal allocation of Pfizer’s vaccine. The approximately 12,000 doses would cover about 6,000 people, about a third of healthcare workers in the state.

“It’s a real concern” because “our healthcare staff here, as everywhere, is really strapped, the healthcare system is kind of breaking down because of the lack of staffing,” Mills said on a call with the White House Coronavirus Task Force this week.

On the call, Gustave Perna, CEO of Operation Warp Speed, cautioned the governors that their projected allotment was preliminary and would be finalized when the emergency authorization is granted.

The Moderna vaccine would go out the following week, on December 22, if that vaccine is granted an emergency authorization. It too calls for a two-dose course.

Governors will decide who receives the first doses. An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control voted Tuesday to recommend the vaccine first be given to frontline healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents — but for many states, it’s either one or the other.

An official in Connecticut said the state is looking at administering the vaccine to long-term care facility residents first because that’s where fatalities are most prevalent.

“Our nursing homes have been hit in tragic ways and we believe vaccine deployment to those residents first will have the most life-saving impact,” the official said. The state expects to have 100,000 doses by the end of the year, as new shipments of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines come in.

There’s a catch, though.

Once they receive the vaccine from the federal government, the states are responsible for distribution, a costly endeavor. Many states are relying on funding for state and local aid set up by the CARES Act, but the money expires at the end of the year and Congress has yet to agree on an extension. Officials in five states told CBS News they are worried about the consequences.

“This really should have been done several weeks ago,” an official in Utah said of the need for new funding. “The lack of action has caused confusion in the states. With the deadline for spending being December 30, there are going to be substantial costs that are going to be left to the states.”

Without new federal funding, officials say there will be fewer vaccination sites, and they will need to rely further on already cash-strapped health systems to administer the vaccine.

“It is crucial that Congress provide financial assistance to support the distribution of the vaccine,” said Jackie Farwell of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. “We are still considering what we would do without that support and planning for all contingencies, but federal funding is vital to the success of this significant undertaking.”

Other states are dubious that they’ll see another cash infusion from the federal government to help defray the distribution costs.

“We are counting on the feds to supply the vaccine, but not depending on them for additional funding for logistics,” said one Virginia official, who then added, “that being said, we would take the money if offered.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday indicated their support for a bipartisan, bicameral coronavirus relief plan that would include aid to state and local governments. It’s not yet clear if the White House will support it.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York would receive an initial delivery of enough initial COVID-19 vaccine doses for 170,000 New Yorkers on December 15 and expects more allocations from Pfizer and Moderna later in the month.

Though the vaccine allocation was “welcome” news, Cuomo criticized the federal vaccination plan because it “not only overlooks the black, brown, and poor communities, but its data sharing provisions will dissuade the undocumented community from getting a vaccination.”

Not every state is ready to disclose the projected number of doses it will receive.

“At this time, we have not been given a sound allocation number for reasons including the proposed vaccines have not received emergency use authorization, therefore the safety and effectiveness for different populations have not been identified,” Pennsylvania officials said in a statement.

Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player is now a doctor who helps treat coronavirus patients

The fight against the coronavirus is like none we’ve ever seen before, but one frontline doctor knows something about tough battles. During her professional soccer career, Rachel Buehler Van Hollebeke competed in the World Cup and earned two Olympic gold medals. Now, instead of dribbling the ball, she juggles patients at a San Diego-area hospital.

When asked what traits or skills she brought to medicine from soccer, Van Hollebeke responded, “Teamwork. Understanding your role on a team. That work ethic, that determination really translates.”

Van Hollebeke graduated from medical school just before COVID-19 gained traction. The family medicine resident is already seeing the crisis first-hand.

“I don’t want to be like a fearful person, but it is a very real disease and it is very dangerous,” she said. “Every patient encountered, you’re prepared in case somebody is COVID positive.”

Medicine is in Van Hollebeke’s blood. She follows three generations of doctors, including her father, and now, even her little sister.

“It just makes me feel proud that I’ve had a family that has really given a lot back to society, to humanity and caring for people,” she said.

Now, Dr. Van Hollebeke is a role model in two fields.

U.S. reaches 100,000 coronavirus hospitalizations

The United States on Wednesday surpassed 100,000 coronavirus hospitalizations — a record-high since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Hospitalizations have more than tripled nationwide since October 1, leaving healthcare systems stretched thin as facilities begin to run out of room for new patients.

South Dakota, Nevada and Indiana lead the nation in hospitalizations per capita, while California has the highest number with 9,365 hospitalizations, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Governor Gavin Newsom said California’s hospital system cannot sustain patients at its current rate of 75% ICU capacity. If current rates stay steady or increase, California will run out of ICU beds before December 25, a fear hospitals in South Dakota, Indiana and Nevada are already facing.

In Reno, the Renown Regional Medical Center is currently caring for 30 patients at the hospital’s alternate care site, a parking garage. Since the onset of the pandemic, Renown’s staff have treated over 219 patients at the alternate care site.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the “overall weekly hospitalization rate is at its highest point in the pandemic, with additional steep increases in individuals aged 65 years and older.” With the current number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, there are 66% more people currently hospitalized now than there were during the first peak in April, when large cities around the country began to run out of hospital beds.

Some states are also grappling with how to staff hospitals. More than 1,000 hospitals across the country are experiencing critical staffing shortages, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“The reality is, December, January and February are going to be rough times, I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation — largely because of the stress that’s going to put on our healthcare system,” Director Dr. Robert Redfield said Wednesday during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event.

“I do think unfortunately before we see February, we could be close to 450,000 Americans [dead] from this virus,” Redfield said while urging Americans to continue mitigation efforts such as social distancing, wearing masks, limiting crowds and to not let their guards down during family gatherings.

Britain on Wednesday became the first country to approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. is expected to follow suit in the upcoming weeks. If Pfizer and Moderna Inc.’s vaccines are given emergency approval by the Food and Drug Safety administration, federal officials overseeing the distribution said the first vaccine could be available in the U.S. as early as December 15.

CDC reduces quarantine time from two weeks to 10 days with no symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new quarantine guidelines for people who were exposed to coronavirus, reducing the length of time from 14 days to 10 days without symptoms or seven days with no symptoms and a negative test. Officials said the shorter time period is intended to encourage more people to quarantine.

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“Reducing the length of quarantine may encourage more people to do so, especially when they may not be able to work during quarantine time,” CDC’s COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr. Henry Walke, told reporters on a call Wednesday. He said the agency still recommends 14 days, but is now offering two “acceptable alternative quarantine periods.”

“As we learn more about the virus, we continue to refine our guidance,” Walke said, emphasizing that everyone should quarantine if they are exposed — or are concerned about exposure — to the coronavirus. He added that people should continue to monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days after exposure — even if they end quarantine sooner.

According to Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC, when quarantine is reduced to 10 days, the “residual risk” of someone exposing someone else after leaving quarantine is only about 1%.

“The recommendation made today is from extensive modeling not just by the CDC but by other scientific institutes,” Brooks said. “All of these point to the same thing — that a person leaving quarantine early could expose someone else. When reduced to 10 days, the residual risk is 1%, upper limit of that risk is 12%. Seven days is 5%, and upper limit is 10%.”

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that a shortened recommended quarantine period should capture the “vast majority” of coronavirus infections.

“What you want are recommendations that are prudent and practical that people are going to follow,” Gottlieb said Sunday. “And when you have a 14-day quarantine period, that’s such a long period of time that a lot of people aren’t going to follow that anyway, and it makes it difficult to adhere to recommendations. So putting in place a 10-day quarantine period, even a seven-day quarantine period, you’re going to capture the vast majority of infections within that time frame.”

Several hours after Wednesday’s announcement, the CDC had yet to update the official quarantine guidance posted on its website.

Officials stressed on the call that the agency still advises against unnecessary travel, especially during the winter holiday season when people are together inside more often and virus transmission increases.

“The CDC recommends staying home and not travel,” Walke said. “If you do travel, get tested 1–3 days before travel and 3–5 after, and minimize any movement between times.”

COVID-19 hospitalizations hit a record high of more than 90,000 people on Thanksgiving Day, according to the COVID Tracking Project. In the run-up to the holiday, public health experts urged Americans to forego large family celebrations.

Nevertheless, more than 1 million Americans boarded flights on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the most for a single day since mid-March, according to figures from the Transportation Security Administration. The three-day period from Friday to Sunday was the busiest travel weekend since the weekend of March 14–16.

Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, told CBSN that they expect the movement will lead to an increase in cases, and eventually deaths, in the coming weeks. Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, warned that those who traveled for the holiday and attended large gatherings should assume they were infected.

“Unfortunately,” Gounder said, “that means that many people who celebrated with family, with friends over Thanksgiving will find themselves in the hospital, in ICUs over Christmas and New Years.”

Couple arrested for flying to Hawaii despite positive COVID-19 tests

Initial vaccine distribution will cover fraction of health care workers

Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player is now a doctor who helps treat coronavirus patients

U.S. reaches 100,000 coronavirus hospitalizations

CDC reduces quarantine time from two weeks to 10 days with no symptoms

Written by Nigar