There’s another twist in the Skylar Mack and Vanjae Ramgeet quarantine breach case.
The two who were sentenced this week to four months in jail in connection with Mack violating her quarantine conditions are now appealing.
The case is now attracting considerable international media interest.
At the same time, the Governor and Deputy Governor have issued statements reminding persons arriving in the Cayman Islands of the quarantine regulations in keeping the population safe from COVID-19.
It’s the second appeal in the case in which the two were initially found guilty in the Summary Court and ordered to do 40 hours community service each plus a fine if CI$2,600.
That sentence was subsequently successfully appealed by the Director of Public Prosecution before Judge Justice Roger Chapple who sent them both to jail for four months each on the grounds that the original sentence was too lenient.
Mack was found guilty of tampering with the monitoring bracelet she was required to wear while in quarantine, removing it and going to a public event to watch Ramjeet compete in a jet ski race.
He was also charged and found guilty as an accomplice.
The latest twist in the high-profile case of the young American female and her Caymanian co-defendant for breaching the jurisdictions strict Covid-19 protocols now sees them appealing this week’s custodial sentence arguing that it’s too harsh.
The Cayman Islands recently toughened up the quarantine laws with the maximum sentence now at CI$10,000 and two years in jail.
Mack and Vanjeet, who have both issued public apologies, are the first persons to be penalised under the more stringent laws.
There have been several breaches of quarantine since the government started a phased reopening of the borders in October.
Meanwhile, in separate statements on Thursday, HE Governor Martyn Roper and Hon. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson reminded of the need for persons arriving in Cayman to adhere to the quarantine protocols.
Governor Roper said, “All of us have to show individual and collective responsibility if we are going to effectively deal with this pandemic.”
Particularly appealing to travellers arriving in the jurisdiction he urged them to “please comply with the guidance and the advice that you are getting because it is really through your actions complying with all of that that we protect everybody in our community, particularly the elderly and vulnerable.”
Hon. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson stated: “What we are doing with Travel Cayman and the entire reopening of our borders, the major focus is to keep our people safe."
"The main thing for us we expect of people who are coming here to isolate is to be responsible, to be really part of the solution,” the Deputy Governor stated.
The case of Skylar Mack and Vanjae Ramjeet breaking Cayman’s quarantine regulations and now sent to prison has attracted international media attention.
It’s being reported by a growing number of media outlets in the US, the UK, the Caribbean and elsewhere including The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers of the UK, along with ABC News, Inside Edition, People magazine and others in the US as the case continues to attract international attention.
It is understood that efforts are being made to have the second appeal heard possibly as early as next week.
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