The Hawaii National Guard will be assisting Kauai police at two checkpoints today to ensure the public is complying with mandated state and county orders to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The collaboration under the unified command of the Kauai Emergency Management Agency’s COVID-19 Incident Management Team will be the start of increased routine checkpoints around the Garden Isle, according to a Kauai Police Department news release.

National Guard soldiers will not be armed.

Violators of the stay-at-home order for residents or the 14-day quarantine order for arriving passengers face penalties of up to a $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

In a statement today, Kauai Police Chief Todd Raybuck, said, “I would like to thank Governor David Ige and Major General Kenneth Hara for providing additional resources to supplement KPD’s efforts.”

“We have reached a critical moment in the pandemic, as case counts climb. Our island has very limited healthcare resources and we must all give careful consideration to how our individual actions may cause the virus to spread further throughout our community. “I know that if there’s any community that can pull together and do this, it’s ours,” he said.