Celebrities and sports stars who jetted to Dubai to escape UK coronavirus restrictions now face tough isolation rules on their return.
A number of famous faces have been posting photos from the Emirates hotspot on social media in recent weeks as they enjoy its warm weather and relatively relaxed coronavirus rules.
Previous international guidelines stated all non-essential travel was banned, with exceptions made for business trips. But the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been taken off the list and anyone arriving from the country must now quarantine for 10 days.
This is sure to be disastrous news for the many celebrity influencers who have spent much of the winter there, ‘working’.
In recent weeks, TV personalities including Geordie Shore’s Chloe Ferry and The Only Way Is Essex’s James Lock have uploaded photos in the city.
Love Island stars Georgia Steel, Laura Anderson and Jess Gale also appear to have recently been in Dubai.
Chloe recently revealed she is planning to stay in the city for at least two months telling Instagram followers: “I was supposed to be leaving in two days but I’ve decided I’m staying here for two months. I’m not leaving!”
Last month Lock said in an Instagram post he was heading to the city because “some amazing opportunities have come up.”
Many celebs and influencers flocked to the tourist hotspot for ‘business’ this winter, which allowed them to avoid the tough lockdown restrictions the UK was plunged into on 4 January.
Reactions from fellow celebrities have criticised the stars, with many noticing that the public feel it’s one rule for the rich and famous, and another for ‘normal’ people.
Former Coronation Street star Kym Marsh hit out saying ‘every man and his dog’ appears to be in Dubai. The actress claimed they didn’t “look particularly socially distanced” while speaking out in her column for OK! magazine.
London author and journalist Bella Mackie posted a series of satirical videos pretending to be an influencer, ridiculing those asking people to stop leaving negative comments in response to the ‘essential’ trips.
Love Island and Towie’s Olivia Attwood was the latest to weigh in on the debate. In a series of Instagram stories, she said: “It’s the constant I’m working, not on holiday shout. On top of that you’ve got the ones that go, we’re all in this together, it’s our struggle. No it’s not, you’re on holiday.”