COVID-19 test turns Hawaii vacation into hotel quarantine

One Las Vegas family’s plan for a tropical getaway to Hawaii turned into a quarantine disaster after issues with an at-home COVID-19 testing service.

Brent Palluck saw a program allowing prospective travelers to take at-home tests for the disease caused by the coronavirus in order to skip the mandatory 10-day quarantine period that Hawaii mandates for those arriving from outside the island chain.

Looking to escape Las Vegas ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Palluck and his wife decided to test themselves and their two kids at home in order to enjoy a week in Maui.

Each family member took the test on Nov. 14, with a counselor from Vault Health, the company that manufactures and performs the at-home tests, remotely guiding them through the process. They then sent the kits via expedited mail to Vault 72 hours prior to their scheduled Nov. 17 departure with United Airlines.

Everything should be fine

Palluck, who is chief financial officer for the Las Vegas Athletic Clubs, said there was a technical issue at the outset with the serial number assigned to his wife’s test, but a Vault representative said it was resolved and everything should be fine.

Then the day before their scheduled departure, Vault emailed Palluck saying it had received three negative test results for him and his two sons, but nothing for his wife, Sufia.

They tried calling Vault, but were unable to reach the company by phone.

“This is where the real problem that we had started,” Palluck said. “They don’t have a number to call where a person picks up. All you can do is leave voicemails.”

Despite leaving around 10 voicemails and sending five emails to Vault, the Pallucks decided to gamble when the time came for their flight, hoping the test results would arrive within a day or so of their arrival.

Authorities in Hawaii, however, had other ideas.

“We get off (the plane) and it shows her results are pending and (while) three of us get to go through the airport, they stop her and want her to go into quarantine right away,” Palluck said.

After they explained the situation, state officials placed the entire family in quarantine in their hotel. Palluck said they weren’t allowed to leave their room, weren’t provided a room key and had to have all their food delivered.

They spent three days trying to reach Vault via email, phone and Facebook messages before giving up.

‘Enough to drive anybody insane’

“There was no response,” Palluck said. “With two kids, 2 and 4 years old, it was enough to drive anybody insane and we topped out and took the red-eye out. … We were willing to fly to Dallas to get back to Vegas, with a three hour layover.”

The day after their 16-hour journey home via American Airlines, they received a message from Vault.

“They messaged her (on Facebook), then they emailed her and then they actually even called her … all within about 20 minutes,” Palluck said. “They were apologizing profusely and said to let them see what they could do. Within 20 minutes they gave her the results, negative, of course.”

In a statement provided to the Review-Journal this week, Vault said the Pallucks did not follow a recommendation that travelers departing for the island chain on Tuesdays and Wednesdays get tested at a local medical facility instead of using at-home testing.

“We advise our guests to consider all options available at their departure city and test as early in the 72-hour window as possible,” the statement read. “All our partners guarantee test results within 24-36 hours; however, for guests departing to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, or for travel between our islands, we recommend getting tested at a local facility instead of using our mail-in test service as there have been isolated cases of results being delayed primarily by shipping.”

The statement also said the Pallucks would be provided a refund for their tests, which cost $119 apiece, or $476.

Palluck claims the portion regarding traveling on Tuesday and Wednesdays was not listed on the Vault site before their travels.

Paulluck also said they have not received a refund from Vault and on Wednesday were shipped four more at home testing kits.

“No thanks,” Palluck said about receiving the tests.

Representatives from Vault weren’t available Wednesday for comment on the new tests shipment.

Wrangling over refunds

Palluck said this week that he had requested refunds for both the cost of the tests from Vault and the flights from United, but had not heard back from either company.

“Neither have responded and we have continued to attempt to reach out to them,” Palluck said. “There has been no communication to us from either, aside from the one phone call and email my wife received from Vault on Nov. 20.”

United spokeswoman Leigh Schramm told the Review-Journal Tuesday that the airline was aware of the complaint and said it appears the issue lies with the testing partner, not United. Since the Pallucks used their flight to Maui already, a refund was likely not an option, Schramm said.

United also pointed out it partnered with ADL Health for its recommended at-home testing for flights to Hawaii and not Vault.

NOTE: An earlier version of this story said the Pallucks traveled on Hawaiian Airlines. After the story was posted online, the Pallucks and Hawaiian Airlines determined the family had actually flown on United Airlines.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.