“Love Island” star and former Miss Britain Zara Holland was fined about $ 6,000 – but spared a jail term – for trying to leave Barbados with her boyfriend after he tested positive for the coronavirus, according to reports.
Holland, 25, pleaded guilty to violating a COVID-19 directive by leaving the upscale resort of Sugar Bay Barbados, where she was staying pending the results of her test, The Sun reported.
She and her beauty, Elliott Love, were caught trying to board a plane to the UK to avoid being taken to a quarantine facility.
Holland and Love were put to the test when they arrived on the island on December 27 and ordered to isolate themselves in their hotel room to await the results. When his result was positive, they were given red wristbands and told they would be taken to a quarantine center.
Holland, who had been in jail for up to a year, was warned by magistrate Ian Weekes that she would face nine months in prison if she failed to pay the fine within a week, the Daily Mail reported.
After the hearing, her attorney Andrew Pilgrim blamed her “lapse” in judgment for a “foolish error,” the outlet said.
He said she had received two negative test results before arriving on the island, but that after Love tested positive, she became very nervous when they were told to quarantine at the hotel.
That led to the lovebirds’ “foolish” decision to try to leave, he explained, adding that the Netherlands had the utmost respect for the people of Barbados and had been to the Caribbean vacation destination twice a year for the past six years.
The magistrate replied, “You cannot operate from the belief that you are in charge and you can do whatever you want.
“Even though you receive negative test results, it is vital that you understand that you must get consent,” Weekes added.
Pilgrim submitted a financial statement to the court showing that his client could pay the fine, but said she could not pay it immediately because a UK bank transfer had not yet been approved in Barbados, the Daily Mail said.
Holland – who breathed a sigh of relief for not being in jail – was released on bail set at £ 7,355, roughly $ 10,000, and will be free to leave the island once her fine is paid.
“We accept the court’s decision. Miss Holland would like to offer her sincere apologies to the entire nation of Barbados. We have no further comment on this point, ”her lawyer said out of court.
Many people responded to the Dutch sentence as a slap on the wrist, comparing her sentence to a Jamaican tourist who was sentenced to six months in prison a month ago for violating the island’s rules to “buy Fanta” and snacks. months ago, The Sun reported.