The incident comes just after a major summer spike in Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases, as the state struggled to contain the highly contagious Delta variant. “We are strongly advising visitors that now is not the right time to travel, and they should postpone their trips through the end of October,” said Hawaii’s Gov. David Ige in an August statement.

“Our hospitals are reaching capacity and our ICUs are filling up,” he said. “Now is not a good time to travel to Hawaii.”

In lieu of barring travelers altogether, the state requires visitors to provide either proof of vaccination or a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of traveling to Hawaii. Otherwise, the visitor is required to self-quarantine for ten days.

According to Hawaii News Now, the 34-year-old Hayward and 33-year-old Randle flew into Kauai’s Lihue Airport, having allegedly uploaded falsified negative COVID-19 test results to the state’s Safe Travels portal.

After the app flagged their documents, the police intervened and arrested the duo. Hayward and Randle were then released pending investigation, driven back to Lihue Airport, and sent on a flight back to California.

“These arrests highlight the continuing efforts between the Attorney General’s investigators, other State officials and County law enforcement to keep Hawaiʿi safe,” said Patrol Services Bureau Assistant Chief Mark Begley, per a Kauai Police Department statement released on Facebook.

“We also want to thank the vast majority of our visitors and residents who respect and follow the safety protocols that are in place during their travel to Hawaiʿi,” he added.

The state’s Attorney General has reportedly launched an investigation into the incident.

Hayward was the 30th pick for the Washington Wizards during the first round of the 2010 NBA draft. He was teammates with NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler during his college days at Marquette.

Hayward played in parts of three seasons between 2010-13, suiting up for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunders.

Hayward and Randle are far from the only visitors attempting to evade Hawaii’s travel requirements. In August, a woman from Illinois used a fake vaccination card to skip the quarantine period. However, she was caught when officials noticed that her vaccine card misspelled “Moderna” as “Maderna.”

Newsweek has reached out to Hawaii’s Attorney General and the office of Kauai’s Mayor for additional comment.