ORLANDO, Fla. — A couple who dreamed of honeymooning in Hawaii instead spent that vacation stuck in their hotel room.
Alayne and Milton Thompson landed in Hawaii early Monday morning for what was supposed to be a weeklong honeymoon that was already two years overdue.
Instead, the Lake County couple was forced into quarantine and threatened with hefty fines and jail time if they left their hotel room.
“We’re paying $300 a day to not have access to the resort,” Alayne said.
Within a day, the couple decided to cut their trip short and return home.
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They decided it made no sense to pay to be locked up in a hotel room.
They thought they had done everything right. They’re both fully vaccinated and got negative COVID-19 tests from CVS before arriving in Honolulu.
CVS is listed as a “trusted testing partner” for the state of Hawaii. But it turns out, the couple got the wrong COVID-19 test.
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The Thompsons claim even their airline assured them in Los Angeles it would be OK and they wouldn’t have to quarantine.
When they arrived in Hawaii, however, it wasn’t. They would have been required to quarantine for 10 days stuck in a room in a separate part of their resort—not the ocean view they were paying for.
CVS pointed Channel 9 to a link on its website that explains Hawaii doesn’t accept the rapid test, and United Airlines referred us to the state of Hawaii website that explains the requirements.
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Instead of quarantining, the Thompsons decided to leave the state and landed back in Orlando Tuesday afternoon.
“I feel free again, like I live with my freedom is back,” Alayne said. “I felt very much like I was in prison. Like I couldn’t do things. I couldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t get the food I’d wanted when I wanted. It was a bizarre dynamic. We’re just happy to be home.”
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They said Hawaii wouldn’t let them take the correct test once they got there.
Channel 9 reached out to the health department and the governor’s office in Hawaii to ask why they couldn’t and if they planned to make any changes. So far, we have not heard back.
