• "Something Navy" blogger and fashion influencer Arielle Charnas is receiving backlash online for leaving New York City shortly after testing positive for COVID-19.
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  • Charnas first sparked controversy when she received one of the limited COVID-19 test swabs from a doctor friend. 

  • Since testing positive, Charnas has posted content from her Manhattan apartment and from a rental property in the Hamptons.
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  • Comments on her Instagram criticized her decision to relocate before the 14-day quarantine period ended. 
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Arielle Charnas, the influencer behind the fashion blog "Something Navy," is sparking more controversy online after leaving New York City for the Hamptons in the wake of her positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

Charnas first received backlash when she shared her health journey with her 1.3 million followers, posting an Instagram story in which received flu and COVID-19 test swabs from a doctor friend — despite telling her followers that she did not qualify for one of the limited tests.

"THE LATEST COOL NEW PERK FOR INFLUENCERS — getting tested quickly for coronavirus, while everyone else waits," New York Times Reporter Kenenth Vogel tweeted in response.

"Still fuming that something navy went and used one of the like 5 tests we have," Twitter user @alainapol22 wrote in a post.

"Influencers are always getting everything first," writer Michael Williams added.

Later that day, Charnas told her followers via an Instagram post that she would no longer be sharing content about her health, and she would continue to post her typical lifestyle content.

A day later, however, Charnas posted a follow-up note in which she revealed that she'd tested positive for COVID-19.

In the post, she addressed her access to the limited COVID-19 tests, writing that she was "lucky," and widespread access to care should be a "#1 priority."

Since testing positive for COVID-19, she's continued to update her followers on her activities via Instagram and TikTok — prompting more criticism. 


Charnas' Instagram posts, stories, and TikTok videos since getting diagnosed reveal that she spent time with her family in their Manhattan apartment before leaving the city to recover in a Hamptons rental home. Posts on Charnas' Instagram show her taking walks outside with her daughter and posing in front of a Hamptons rental home with the caption "fresh air."


The decision to leave New York before 14 days of quarantine — the recommended period of time for those exposed to the virus — had passed received swift backlash online from commenters calling the decision "selfish" and "disappointing."

A Twitter thread by writer Sophie Ross documents and critiques Charnas' activity since the positive diagnosis.

"[Charnas] literally LEFT her palatial manhattan apartment so she could get Hamptons content," Ross wrote.


"As a nurse, I'm super bummed you couldn't stay quarantined for the whole 14 days past positive testing," one follower wrote in a comment before the comments feature was turned off on the post. "Your privilege does not excuse you from following simple rules to contain yourself. And you influence a lot of young people."

"Do you realize you have a very contagious and, for many, deadly disease? Do you realize that going out and about puts at risk, let's say, the people in your building that need to take the elevator after you?" another added. "Do you realize this is not the best message?"

Charnas did not return Insider's request for comment.









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