THE HIGH COSTA COST SINGLE
Self-employed mum childminder loses out as Spain travel quarantine rules force her to: ■ Cut holiday short; ■ Lose wages; and ■ Refund her clients
A SINGLE mum who had to cut short her family holiday to Gran Canaria has told of the devastating financial cost of the quarantine as she loses a week of work.
Self-employed childminder Vicki Hedley will miss out on a week’s wages after having to refund all her clients while she stays at home – as well as losing half of her holiday.
The Cramlington mum booked the trip to the Canary Islands with her two daughters last year.
“When the outbreak started, I tried to cancel but was told I’d lose a considerable amount,” said Vicki, 45.
“I was advised to wait and if Jet2 had to cancel then I would be refunded in full. I was told they would never send to a country in which quarantine was advised.
“Two weeks before the holiday I tried to cancel again. My options were either to cancel and lose 70% or rearrange for next year, but the cheapest offer was £1,500 more for a similar holiday.
“My travel insurance company said they’d look at it if I cancelled but probably wouldn’t cover.
“Finally Jet2 resumed holidays on July 15 and ours was the next day, to a place with hardly any cases.
“I felt lucky. We were still getting our holiday and my daughters were over the moon. It was just what we needed after a difficult lockdown.”
The family flew out on July 16 and had nine wonderful days before the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced travellers returning from the Balearic and Canary Islands must self-isolate on their return for 14 days.
“It was much safer than the UK – you had to wear masks in shops, on public transport and in bars if you left the table, there was hand sanitiser everywhere,” Vicki said.
“Everything was very relaxing until the Government announced we had six hours to get home, or quarantine for two weeks.
“I just went into instant panic. I have my own business, I’m the sole income for the family, I couldn’t afford to take an extra two weeks and refund everyone.”
Vicki was unable to get a return flight until the next night, so she and daughters Katie, 15, and Megan, 20, are now in quarantine for two weeks.
She said: “This means that I can do my first week of quarantine when I was booked off anyway and only have to inconvenience my families for a further week.
“I had to pay extra to rearrange the flight and arrange my own transfer to the airport, which came to over £100. I’ve lost about £800 on the holiday and a week’s pay.
“It’ll have a big impact because that’s money I could have had in the bank, but the biggest impact is the emotional impact on my children, having to stay at home for two weeks.
“My youngest daughter is now missing two weeks of her summer holiday after lockdown – she’s absolutely devastated.
“I feel so annoyed because there wasn’t even a rise in cases in Gran Canaria.
“I understand taking those measure for mainland Spain, or even for the Balearics because people take day trips there from the mainland, but it’s 1,000 miles to the Canaries.
“I feel so sorry for all the businesses out there because they are much more on the ball than we are, and now they’re being penalised.”
Boris Johnson indicated yesterday that quarantine restrictions could be imposed on further European countries if a “second wave” of coronavirus hits the continent.
The Prime Minister already faces a diplomatic row with Spain after warning against all but essential travel to the country.
But he defended the move and insisted the Government would not hesitate to act if flare-ups of coronavirus occurred in other destinations.
Labour said the Government must end its one-size-fits-all approach and introduce sectoral support for struggling businesses to ensure public health measures, such as the change in quarantine rules for people returning from Spain, do not lead to mass job losses.