A Perth social media star and fashion stylist has angrily hit back after she copped public backlash for an apparent breach of coronavirus lockdown rules.
Em Davies, 26, sparked online outrage on Monday when she uploaded an Instagram photo of her Apple Watch following a 7.33km coastal walk just one day into stay at home orders enforced by the Western Australian government.
Perth was plunged into a five day lockdown on Sunday after a quarantine hotel security guard contracted highly-contagious UK variant of the virus.
The now deleted Instagram story of Ms Davies’ device revealed the walk took 77 minutes, which indicated she exceeded the one hour outdoor exercise limit by 17 minutes.
Popular Instagram account Celeb Spellcheck was quick to spot the apparent lockdown breach and shared the photo to their 99,400 followers, sparking an outpouring of online outrage towards the self-proclaimed YouTuber, stylist and model.
Em Davies (pictured) insists she didn’t do anything wrong and has set the record straight about an alleged lockdown breach
Em Davies posted the incriminating Apple Watch picture to her 380,000 Instagram followers, which has since been deleted
Ms Davies came under heavy fire over the apparent breach.
‘F**k respecting the rules – let’s influence people to break them,’ wrote one angry critic.
Another added: ‘Day one and people are already above the rules.’
The online backlash prompted an angry response from Ms Davies, who insists she did nothing wrong and didn’t breach lockdown rules.
She hit back on Monday night to set the record straight to her 381,000 followers and says there’s a simple explanation as to why her walk took more than a hour.
She also says the Instagram Story of her Apple watch, which was later deleted was taken out of context.
Self-proclaimed YouTuber, stylist and model Em Davies (pictured) is no stranger to online controversy
Davies said she hadn’t done anything wrong and claimed she was taken out of context
Emily (pictured) shared a joke video of herself on Instagram following a New Year’s Eve gathering, where she pretended to snort a white powder with pals
‘This morning I did my hourly exercise outside of the house. This lasted no longer than 1 hour and was within the allowed 5km radius (3.5km there and back),’ Ms Davies wrote.
‘I also stopped off at a cafe (Yelo) to buy takeaway. My Apple Watch was running the whole time. At no stage did I breach the lockdown restrictions that have been imposed.’
Ms Davies added she took the current lockdown restrictions very seriously and always complied with advice from government authorities.
‘It’s really disappointing and upsetting to have something like this completely taken out of context,’ she wrote.
She then uploaded an Instagram story of what appeared to be a $12 receipt confirming her $12 takeaway lunch purchase at popular seaside eatery Yelo Cafe in Trigg.
‘This is where I stopped for everyone in my dms’ she captioned the photo.
She also took a swipe at a media outlet which reported on the apparent breach.
‘Stop being so quick to jump to conclusions. Foul,’ she wrote.
Em Davies (left) posted a photo of the receipt for her takeaway cafe lunch (right) to explain the extra 17 minutes outside during lockdown
Em Davies was under heavy fire amid claims she exercised outdoors for more than an hour during lockdown in Perth on Monday
Ms Davies is no stranger to online controversy.
Davies shared a joke video of herself on Instagram 12 months ago following a New Year’s Eve gathering, where she pretended to snort a white powder with friends.
In the footage, Ms Davies was seen lifting a non-illegal substance from a small piece of paper to her nose, guided by a tiny metal spoon.
The influencer was then seen laughing at the camera, before saying: ‘Yeah, the boys!’
It’s understood the video was recorded as a private and personal joke and that Ms Davies wasn’t doing anything illegal at the time.
The controversial clip was posted two months after she was heavily criticised for publishing a $97 health and fitness advice book despite not having a nutrition degree.
Perth model Em Davies (pictured) claims her Instagram story was blown out of proportion
The 77-page eBook titled ‘The Ultimate Guide to your Best Body’ included claims about ‘energy balance’ and health myths.
Ms Davies, who has a degree in fashion business, claimed at the time all of the information was ‘100 per cent referenced to science’ and with Mandy Hopper, who has a masters in sport science, to write the book.
‘Everything that’s in there is actually referenced back to science and anyone that would purchase the eBook would be able to see that… so even if I did write it myself, it’s still 100 per cent referenced to science,’ she told Perth Now in November 2019.
‘If people follow you then they want to follow you, there are always going to be people who disagree with what you are doing, but don’t focus on the bad things that people are saying.’
Western Australians face an anxious wait this week with tests results over the coming days are set to reveal whether the state has dodged a bullet with the new COVID-19 outbreak.
The infected hotel security guard worked two 12-hour shifts on both January 26 and 27 while there were four cases at the hotel, including two with the highly-infectious UK variant and one confirmed to have the South African strain.
Em Davies (pictured) is among two million Western Australians currently in a five day lockdown until Friday, which she says she takes very seriously
Premier Mark McGowan later confirmed the security guard had the UK strain.
The outbreak confirmed on Sunday ended Western Australia’s 10-month streak of zero community transmissions.
Around 66 contacts of the guard have tested negative while 11 ‘high-risk’ close contacts have been take into hotel quarantine as a precaution.
No new cases were recorded on Monday from just 3,171 tests conducted on Sunday.
Hundreds of Western Australians queued for hours in scorching heatwave conditions to be tested on Monday.
The lockdown enforced on Perth, Peel and South West regions affects 80 per cent of the state’s population.
Health authorities have listed 15 venues, on top of Sheraton Four Points hotel, as potential exposure sites after they were visited by the security guard. Pictured: Map shows venues the positive Covid case visited
It sparked a wave of panic buying across packed supermarkets and prompted South Australia to close its borders to WA without warning, along with Victoria, Queensland, Northern Territory, and later the ACT.
Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the coming days would be ‘quite critical’ as 60 close contacts of the security guard have been identified.
‘We call him case 903. This is a person who… we suspect has got the UK variant strain but that will be confirmed in the next 36 hours,’ Mr Dawson told 6PR Radio on Monday.
‘If he has that more transmissible (strain) then that’s what’s causing us the concern.’
Shoppers queue in front of a shop in Maylands, Perth on Monday morning
Davies is a model. YouTuber, Instagrammer and self-described ‘luxe glam’ style ‘icon’
A strict five-day lockdown came into effect at 6pm on Sunday over parts of Western Australia after a hotel quarantine security guard tested positive to the highly infectious UK strain of coronavirus.
The snap lockdown was deemed necessary as the guard had spent days travelling around Perth potentially spreading the virus before falling ill and testing positive.
The authorities have compiled a list of more than 15 locations across Perth that have potentially been exposed to the virus so far.
Perth, Peel and the South West will enter a strict lockdown beginning 6pm on Sunday and lasting until Friday – impacting about 80 per cent of WA’s population
The list will continue to grow as contact tracers get further information, but already includes several businesses throughout the suburb of Maylands.
The infected employee was registered on the SafeWA contact tracing app, which recorded his movements in the days before testing positive, making contact tracing easier.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said on Sunday night that 66 close contacts of the infected guard had been identified of which 13 have returned negative test results.
Eleven close contacts who were deemed high risk have been placed in hotel quarantine.
Anybody who visited one of the following locations must seek Covid testing immediately and self isolate until they receive a negative result:
- Coles Maylands on January 25 between 8pm and 10pm and January 29 between 8pm and 9pm
- KFC Maylands on January 27 between 6pm and midnight
- Mitsubishi Motors in Midland on January 27 from 7pm to close
- Spudshed, Coventry Village in Morley on January 27 from 8pm to midnight
- ECU Joondalup on January 28 from 11am to 2pm
- Consulate general of India in St Georges Terrace on January 28 at 5pm
- Halal Grocery Store in Cloverdale on January 28 from 7pm to 9pm
- Venus ladies and gentleman hair design in Maylands on January 29 between 1pm and 3pm
- Perth Convention Centre on January 29 between 4pm and 6pm
- Nedlands GP on January 29 between 5pm and 6pm
- Chemist Warehouse North Perth on January 29 between 5.30pm and 7.30pm
- 7-Eleven Ascot petrol station on January 29 from 8pm to 9pm
- Coles Express Shell Clovedale on January 30 between 12pm and 3pm
- Puma Service Station in Burswood on January 30 from 11am until 12pm
- Pharmacy 777 at Maylands Park shopping centre on January 30 from 2.30pm to 4pm
- Arena Convenience Store on Milligan Street in the Perth CBD on January 27, between 2pm and 3pm
- Genesis Gym on Abernethy Road in Belmont on January 30 between 9.30am and 12pm
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