Love Island star Zara Holland has been charged with breaking coronavirus laws after she tried to flee Barbados with her boyfriend when he tested positive for Covid-19.
The former Miss England, 25, could be fined up to £18,000 and face a year in jail after she and her boyfriend Elliott Love, 30, were arrested by officials at Grantley Adams International Airport.
Miss Holland, who will appear in court on the Caribbean island on Wednesday, and her partner breached their quarantine conditions to remain at their Sugar Bay resort hotel when Mr Love tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
The couple were initially placed in isolation at a specialist Covid-19 quarantine facility in northern Barbados but Miss Holland has since been released after testing negative for a second time for the virus and is now confined to her hotel room.
Zara Holland has been charged with breaking coronavirus laws after she tried to flee Barbados with her boyfriend. Pictured: The model on holiday in Barbados in 2019
The former Miss England and her partner Elliott Love (pictured together), 30, breached their quarantine conditions to remain at their hotel when Mr Love tested positive for the virus on Tuesday
The pair were instructed to remain at their £300-a-night Sugar Bay resort hotel (pictured) after the model’s partner tested positive for the virus
It comes as a petition calling for the the Love Island star and her partner to be jailed was reached more than 1,000 people on Change.org today.
The petition read: ‘They broke the law, but also broke the trust of the wonderfully open, kind and welcoming people of Barbados. They acted with a level of selfishness and entitlement that beggars belief.
‘They undermined the huge amount of work that had been done by the government and people of Barbados to suppress community transmission and the didn’t just risk the livelihoods of Bajans, the risked their lives.’
This week the model issued an apology to the government and the people of Barbados after breaking quarantine.
In a statement the model claimed her decision to break Barbados’ strict coronavirus rules had been a ‘massive mix-up and misunderstanding’.
The statement, which was published by Barbados Today news website, said: ‘I firstly want to apologise to the entire country of Barbados for what has been a massive mix up and misunderstanding during my most recent stay.
‘I am currently working with the local authorities to rectify any issues on my part and will issue an update and full statement which I think is the only right thing to do to the Government and citizens of Barbados.
‘I have been a guest of this lovely island in excess of 20 years and would never do anything to jeopardise an entire nation that I have nothing but love and respect for and which has treated me as a family.’
Mr Love’s brother Harvey told MailOnline: ‘Zara is out of quarantine. She is in a hotel.’
Miss Holland could be fined up to £18,000 and face a year in jail after she and her boyfriend were arrested by officials at Grantley Adams International Airport
The coupe were initially placed in isolation at a specialist Covid-19 quarantine facility in northern Barbados
In Barbados this week, the Daily Nation reported: ‘The couple, who have been dating for four years, arrived here last Sunday aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight and were to be quarantining in a Christ Church hotel. Visitors have to be cleared after two mandatory tests, which usually take about three days.
‘However, after Ministry of Health officials informed them that one of them had tested positive, the couple apparently removed their red wristbands, boarded a taxi to Grantley Adams International Aiport and attempted to book a flight back to the United Kingdom aboard British Airways.
‘Sources said while the male is in isolation until he recovers from the virus, the 25-year-old model who won a major beauty contest in the UK, was under quarantine until tests prove that she did not have the virus. However, if she turns out to be positive, she too will be isolated.’
A tourist was jailed for six months earlier this week for breaching Barbados’ strict Covid-19 protocols, even though he had only popped out for a drink.
Dean George Scott, 49, from Jamaica, admitted leaving quarantine to ‘buy Fanta’ and other snacks after arriving on the holiday island at the beginning of December, when he appeared in court.
Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes said the sentence served as a ‘clear warning’ to others.
He said: ‘I got to send a message to you and to all the other people that this cannot be tolerated. We have made too much gain, so you have to do six months. Walking out of quarantine no man, this cannot be allowed.’
Other guests at Sugar Bay are not having to quarantine as a result of the couple’s alleged breach, with staff confident no one else came into close contact, but visitors isolate on arrival anyway until a negative test is confirmed.
The couple were thought to be being held on a Covid ward at the St Lucy Hospital in northern Barbados before Miss Holland was allowed to return to a hotel.
A Barbadian police spokesman said: ‘Zara Holland has been released from a medical facility to go to her designated hotel. Elliott Love remains a resident at the medical facility.’
Island chief medical officer Dr Kenneth George said: ‘There are three tourists who are of special interest. Two are in quarantine and one in police custody.
‘Two were apprehended at the airport. This is a police matter and I trust that the appropriate evidence will be submitted.’
While a spokesman for the country’s Ministry of Health and Wellness added: ‘Police have held for questioning at least three tourists in relation to alleged breaches.
The Paragon Isolation Centre on Barbados where Zara Holland and her boyfriend were taken after being arrested
The duo are said to have been given red wristbands but allegedly cut them off and tried to flee to the airport in a taxi (Miss Holland is pictured in Barbados in 2019)
‘We will take firm action against any individuals who breach protocols.’
Meanwhile, local reports in Barbados say that airport staff have been quarantined after coming into contact with two British tourists, believed to be the couple.
The Foreign Office confirmed they were aware of Zara Holland and Elliot Love’s antics.
An FCDO spokesperson said: ‘We are supporting a British man and woman in quarantine in Barbados, and are in contact with their family.’
MailOnline has contacted Zara’s representatives for a comment.
Before arriving in Barbados visitors have to fill out an online form and preferably include an upload of their negative COVID-19 PCR test result.
It is then mandatory for travellers from High-Risk and Medium-Risk countries to receive a second test while on island.
While waiting for the results visitors then have to restrict their movements to their accommodation and cannot have visitors.
If the result is positive, then the person is assessed at a government facility for a minimum of 24 hours. After this there is the option to self-isolate at your own expense or go to a government isolation location, such as the Paragon Military Base.
The model appeared on Love Island in 2016 and has since spoken out about how her ‘rollercoaster’ experience on the reality show left her battling anxiety and depression
Since Love Island, Zara has turned her attentions to running a business with her mum (pictured on the reality show with Daniel Lukakis)
However if a positive test is returned, the visitor cannot return home. They have to isolate until they have recovered. Upon recovery, you can resume your vacation or return home, Visit Barbados explains.
The country has had just 383 Covid cases and only seven deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Miss Holland struck up a romance with her partner just months after she left Love Island and she later told the Daily Star that he was ‘the one’.
She gushed: ‘We’re very happy together and have such a great time. He is absolutely amazing and he’s definitely the one.’