As tens of thousands of Americans throw corona caution to the wind as states re-open for business and presidents hold campaign rallies, 21 travellers in Hawaii have fled the island after receiving death threats and being warned to “get the (expletive) off the island” in response to being arrested for violating quarantine.

The travellers, part of a group called Carbon Nation – described as a nature-loving family – were spotted on a Big Island beach near Hilo on June 8, with a video posted on YouTube and social media. Soon after, “People started rolling up to our house calling us all types of names. Telling us to starve and a whole bunch of stuff. We’ve been getting death threats in our inboxes,” said group member Kendra Carter, adding, “We apologized for it and we’re still apologizing for it.”

Carter said the group’s members had spent two years travelling in Central America and were so excited to experience Hawaii that they decided to stop at the beach before going to their rental home.

Group leader Eligio Bishop, who was shown in the video petting a sea turtle, pleaded no contest to the quarantine violation.

Carter said the group didn’t realize that Hawaii’s mandatory 14-day quarantine, which doesn’t allow travellers arriving in the state to leave a residence or hotel room for any reason except medical emergencies, would be strictly enforced.

All arrivals in Hawaii are required to sign an “Order for Self-Quarantine” at the airport, which mandates going straight to their residence from the airport.

“We take our quarantine and our safety very seriously,” said Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth. “We’re not going tolerate people violating the law.”

The group “probably spent more time in jail on their trip to Hawaii than they spent outside of jail,” he added.

All the members of the group had left the island by June 16, barely a week after being outed and arrested.

Even after their arrests, the group had planned to remain in Hawaii, Carter said. But the threats, including being told to “get the (expletive) off the island,” led to their decision to leave, she said.

Local officials and the non-profit Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai‘i help organize and fund the exodus.

As of last week, the Big Island was reporting one active case among 82 overall of COVID-19.