18-Year-Old Jailed in Cayman Islands for Refusing to Follow COVID-19 Protocol Returns Home

Skylar Mack, whose story has been an annoying headlines-grabber for weeks now, is back in the U.S. after serving a little over a month behind bars.

January 19, 2021

Skylar Mack, whose name you may remember due to her being the 18-year-old American college student who infamously broke COVID-19 protocol in the Cayman Islands and got jailed for doing so, has returned home.

A Cayman Islands government rep confirmed to Peopleon Monday that both Mack and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Vanjae Ramgeet, were given an early release from prison on Jan. 15 after initially being hit with a four-month sentence that was later reduced to two.

Mack, as has been widely reported in recent weeks, first arrived on the island on Nov. 27 with intentions of watching her boyfriend do jet ski things in a jet ski event of some sort. Regional policy stated that she was required to stick to a minimum 14-day quarantine-in-residence. On Nov. 29, however, Mack took off her geo-fencing bracelet and left the residence to attend the aforementioned jet ski event featuring jet ski enthusiasts doing jet ski things.

At the event in question, per police, Mack failed to wear a mask and ignored social distancing guidelines. This behavior, as well as the breaking of quarantine protocol, ultimately resulted in being jailed.

"I don't expect anybody to ever forgive me, but I would like for them to at least let me be able to show them that I did learn from it," Mack said in an ABC News interview that was being circulated on Tuesday. As for the sentence, Mack said she "deserved it" and was solely to blame.

While some have acknowledged that at least Mack was not suddenly making excuses for breaking protocol, many were critical of Good Morning America and other platforms on Tuesday for giving her a platform while the pandemic continues to stack up troubling numbers here in the U.S. and elsewhere.