An American student who violated the mandatory 14-day quarantine protocol for visitors to the Cayman Islands was given a reduced prison sentence after her attorney appealed, arguing that the sentence was “particularly harsh.”
A spokesman for the Cayman Islands Court of Appeals told NBC News in an email that the jail terms for Skylar Mack, 18, and her boyfriend, Vanjae Ramreken, 24, were cut from four to two months on Tuesday.
The couple’s lawyer said the two were incredibly sorry for their actions.
“They both expressed genuine remorse, a genuine appreciation for the seriousness of what had happened, a genuine request for some form of forgiveness,” said Jonathan Hughes.
Mack is a pre-medic student from Georgia who visited her boyfriend in the Cayman Islands for a jet ski competition. Mack, who didn’t quarantine the mandatory two weeks, said she was only isolated for two days and tested negative for Covid-19 before attending her boyfriend’s match.
Jeanne Mack, Skylar’s grandmother, told the “Today” show Monday that her granddaughter just wanted to go home.
“She knows she made a mistake, she admitted that, but she’s pretty hysterical right now,” Jeanne said.
According to the government’s Covid-19 dashboard, the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory with nearly 65,000 people, have reported 316 cases and 2 deaths.