A father and his teenage son with COVID-19 were forced to quarantine by authorities in Honolulu this week, authorities said.
The teenager, allegedly “in violation of the COVID quarantine restriction,” was spotted by a Honolulu Police Department officer on patrol Tuesday morning at a shopping center, police said in a statement Tuesday.
“The teen’s father came to [a] shopping center shortly thereafter, and both males were detained,” the department said.
The duo was then taken to a facility for a period of forced quarantine, police said.
State of Hawaii Department of Health director Bruce Anderson told NBC affiliate Hawaii News Now that it was the first time in 20 years he had to use a special order to force people to stay at an isolation facility.
The station said the forced quarantine was expected to last 10 days.
Calling the teen an “an imminent threat to public health,” Anderson said he had “refused to comply with the isolation order and was out with his friends and exposing lots of people.”
Video appears to show police in hazmat-style gear detaining the teenager, in handcuffs and wearing a medical-style mask.
Nethcali J. Naisonet, the father, told Hawaii News Now that he was just trying to “get my son off of the streets” and prevent exposure when he was detained. The station reported the two were from Florida but now live in Hawaii.
On Wednesday, the state reported a single-day record for new COVID-19 cases: 109.
“We are seeing an increase in small and large social gatherings, including gatherings on beaches and in our parks, at homes and in workplaces,” Anderson said in a statement. “We have also recently seen an increase in cases associated with bars, gyms other establishments where physical distancing and masking is not regularly practiced.”
