United Bans Couple Who Flew After Testing Positive for COVID-19

The couple that was arrested this week for boarding a flight while knowing they had tested positive for COVID-19 won’t be flying United Airlines anytime soon.

Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson – who were also traveling with a four-year old child from San Francisco to Hawaii – have been banned from flying with the airline, Leigh Schramm, spokesperson for United Airlines, told USA Today in a statement Friday.

“We have banned these customers while we investigate this matter,” Schramm said, noting in the statement that the the “health and safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority.”

Moribe and Peterson tested positive for the virus during a screening at San Francisco International Airport, but chose to ignore the mandatory move to a quarantine station. Instead, the trio boarded their United Airlines flight.

When the plane landed at Lihue Airport in Hawaii, police arrested Moribe and Peterson and charged them with reckless endangerment. The child was turned over to a relative and bail was set at $1,000, which they promptly paid.

The Kaua‘i Police Department confirmed told the newspaper that the couple “placed the passengers of the flight in danger of death.”

Todd G. Raybuck, Kauai’s Chief of Police, said in a statement that “We continue to request visitors and residents alike to follow the Governor’s Emergency Rules and take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”