In yet another example of government overreach, an American teenager and her boyfriend have been sentenced to four months in a Cayman Islands jail for violating local quarantine rules.
Skylar Mack, 18, of Georgia, broke her two-week quarantine after two days because she wanted to watch her boyfriend, Vanjae Ramgeet — a 24-year-old jet ski racer from the Cayman Islands — compete in a local race on Nov. 29, People reported.
Under Cayman’s coronavirus guidelines, travelers are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine-in-residence upon arriving on the island.
Mack pled guilty to removing her geo-fencing bracelet and breaking quarantine for seven hours in order to watch her boyfriend compete in a local jet-ski race. He pled guilty to aiding and abetting her.
The couple was initially sentenced to a fine and community service by Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez.
However, Patrick Moran, the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Cayman Islands, appealed the sentence. He claimed it was too lenient and therefore, unlikely to deter others from breaching COVID guidelines.
Moran then sought prison terms for Mack and Ramgeet for the nonviolent transgression. Neither were infected with COVID-19 when Mack breached quarantine.
“These offenses should have been met with far more stringent measures,” Moran told the judge, as reported by the Cayman Compass. “When it comes to a matter of deterrence, the sentences imposed are likely to have little to no effect on other like-minded individuals.”
Moran argued that the couple should have been sentenced to jail and a larger fine than they originally received.
The couple are the first to be sentenced under the law that focuses on COVID-19 violators. Originally, the law gave out a $2,400 fine and six months in prison, however, it was amended to a $12,000 fine and two years in prison, according to WSB-TV.
Earlier, New Zealand announced it would put all COVID-19 patients into mandatory quarantine camps. A similar move by the Indian government to send corona resisters to COVID camps was blocked by the Indian Supreme Court.
For latest updates on the outbreak check out our Coronavirus Coverage.
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