Scramble to catch last flights home
NORTH CORK COUPLE STRANDED IN PERU AS DEATHS THERE MOUNT UP
AS The Corkman went to press this week, hundreds of Irish people in locations across the globe were desperately trying to make their way back home as COVID-19 continued to impact on global travel links.
Among them are a Cork couple stranded under martial law in Peru after the county went into lock down, who are hoping their nightmare will be brought to an end over the coming days.
Andrew Cotter from Mitchelstown and his girlfriend Marie Cotter from Conna are among up to 130 Irish citizens currently stranded in the country.
The couple, along with two other Irish nationals, are confined at a hostel in the city of Cusco, a 20-hour land journey from the capital Lima. They can only get out of the building for short periods to collect essential provisions.
He and Marie were on an eight-month trip around central and South America before arriving in Peru on March 14.
Within two days the country went into complete lock down, leaving them with no way of getting back to Ireland.
They have been in contact with Irish officials and on Wednesday afternoon received a communication from the Irish Embassy in Chile informing them that a repatriation flight will be arranged as soon as it can be accommodated by the Peruvian authorities.
Andrew said the flight could not come quick enough as people were getting nervous following reports of deaths in the Cusco region from COVID-19 infections.
AS The Corkman went to press this week, hundreds of Irish people in locations across the globe were desperately trying to make their way back home as COVID-19 continued to impact on global travel links.
Among them were Andrew Cotter from Mitchelstown and his girlfriend, Marie Barry from Conna, who have found themselves stranded in Peru under martial law while on an eightmonth trip around central and South America.
Speaking to The Corkman from his hostel in the city of Cusco, a 20-hour journey by land from the Peruvian capital, Lima, Andrew said the couple arrived in the country from Bolivia on March 14.
“At the time there were two COVID-19 cases in Bolivia and 11 in Peru, which we felt was good compared to all the reports coming from Europe at the time,” said Andrew.
However, the following day there was a national address saying Peru would be going into lock down under martial law the following day, giving foreigners just 24 hours to get out of the country.
“The thing was we were in a small town called Puno, about 10 hours from Cusco, which was the closest city with an international airport. We caught a bus as soon as we could, but by the time we reached Cusco the lockdown had started,” said Andrew. He said the lock-down was meant to be an initial 15-day mandatory quarantine. However,
Andrew said the underlying tones were that this would be extended as the Coronavirus began to spread.
The couple are currently in a hostel along with two other Irish people. According to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) they are among some 130 Irish people in the country, the majority of whom are in Cusco and Lima.
Andrew said that people are allowed out of the hostel individually and with maskS on under government direction to visit supermarkets, pharmacies and banks. However, he said the police and military seem to be deliberately targeting foreigners, telling them they should not be out on the streets.
“Consequently, we are limiting outings as much as we can, maybe once every two days.”
Andrew said they have been in communication with the Irish Embassy in Chile, and it would appear there are plans in the pipeline to get people back home.
“Initially there was talk of private charter flights being offered at $3,000 and $3,500 (US). However, they now appear to have been dropped due to the Peruvian Government completely shutting down airports to all commercial traffic,” he said.
Earlier this week the DFA told stranded Irish nationals in Peru that it was working with the British Foreign Office to get charter flights over to Lima sometime this week. It is understood the cost of flights would be covered partly by the EU, with the balance of around €400 being made up by each passenger.
The most recent communication sent out by the Irish Embassy in Chile on behalf of the DFA, under the tag-line ‘peruevacuationflight@dfa.ie’, offered a ray of hope for Andrew, Marie and the other Irish nationals stranded in Peru and who are in contact with the department that a flight home was in the process of being arranged.
It read that the ‘exact time for the repatriation flight will depend on how soon our aircraft can be accommodated by the Peruvian authorities’.
“Once we know the date and time for the flight, we will be in contact in relation to travel plans for Irish citizens outside Lima, including Cusco and other cities. Thank you for your continued patience in these difficult circumstances,” read the communication.
Andrew said the flight could not come quick enough as people were getting nervous as reports of COVID-19 deaths were being reported in the Cusco region. “We would like to express how extremely grateful we all are to the DFA, Ministers/ TDs/ MEPs/ councillors, media, family and friends for all their support in getting us home before further lock downs here and/or in Europe,” said Andrew.