Love Island’s Zara Holland could face year in jail and £18k fine after being charged with breaching Barbados Covid laws
LOVE Island star Zara Holland will appear in court in Barbados on Wednesday charged with breaching Covid-19 laws.
The former Miss Great Britain, 25, could be fined up to £18,000 and jailed for a year.
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She and boyfriend Elliott Love, 30, were intercepted by police at the airport as they tried to flee after he tested positive.
And it has now emerged the island has had a surge of 200 new cases of the virus in the past two days, with 33 linked to the airport from which the couple tried to leave.
She will be in court a week after a fellow tourist was jailed for six months for a similar breach.
Last night, Love remained at the island’s quarantine centre. More than 800 people, mainly islanders, have signed a petition demanding the pair be thrown in jail.
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The petition reads: "They undermined the huge amount of work that had been done to suppress community transmission and they didn’t just risk the livelihoods of Bajans, they risked their lives.
"If one single person dies as a result of their selfish and cowardly actions, then they should be charged with murder. Either way, we strongly believe they should receive a custodial sentence, either in Barbados or the UK, for wantonly endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands of people."
People who signed the petition labelled the couple "selfish".
Zara, from North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, has been visiting the Caribbean island for many years and was yesterday confined to her hotel room.
She told island newspaper Barbados Today: “I would never do anything to jeopardise an entire nation that I have nothing but love and respect for.”
She said: "I firstly wish to apologise to the entire country of Barbados for what has been a massive mix up and misunderstanding during my most recent stay."
Zara added: "I am currently working closely 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."
The couple had been staying at the £300-a-night beachfront Sugar Bay resort.