“Love Island” star and former Miss Britain, Zara Holland, was fined about $ 6,000 – but served a prison sentence – for trying to leave Barbados with her boyfriend after he positive for coronavirus, according to reports.
The 25-year-old Netherlands pleaded guilty to violating a COVID-19 directive, leaving the Sugar Bay Barbados complex, where she was awaiting test results, The Sun reported.
She and her boyfriend, Elliott Love, were caught trying to board a plane to Britain to avoid being taken to a quarantine facility.
Holland and Love were tested when they arrived on the island on December 27 and were ordered to isolate themselves in their hotel room to await the results. When his result was positive, they were given red bracelets and told they would be taken to a quarantine center.
The Netherlands, which faced a year in the slammer, was warned by magistrate Ian Weekes that it will be closed for nine months if it does not pay the fine within a week, the Daily Mail reported.
After the hearing, her lawyer, Andrew Pilgrim, blamed the “decline” of his trial for a “stupid mistake”, according to the press.
He said he received two negative test results before arriving on the island, but that after Love tested positive, he became very nervous when told to be quarantined at the hotel.
This led to the “stupid” decision of the beloved birds to try to leave, he explained, adding that the Netherlands had the greatest respect for the people of Barbados and had visited the Caribbean getaway twice a year for the past six years.
The magistrate challenged: “You cannot operate on the faith you lead and you can do what you want.
“Even if you receive negative test results, it is vital that you understand that you must be authorized,” Weekes added.
Pilgrim submitted a financial statement to the court proving that his client has the ability to pay the fine, but said he cannot pay it immediately because a bank transfer from the UK has not yet been cleared in Barbados, according to the Daily Mail.
The Netherlands – which breathed a sigh of relief because it was not closed – has been released on bail set at £ 7,355, about $ 10,000, and will be free to leave the island once its fine is paid.
“We accept the court’s decision. Miss Holland wishes to express her sincere apologies to the entire nation of Barbados. At this moment, we have no other comments “, her lawyer declared outside the court.
Many people reacted to the Dutch punishment like a slap on the wrist and compared her sentence to a Jamaican tourist imprisoned for six months for violating the island’s rules to “buy Fanta” and snacks a month ago, The Sun reported.