Russell Edwards of Melfort and Heather Hind of St. Brieux stranded in Peru due to COVID-19 pandemic. (Facebook/Heather Hind)

By Angie Rolheiser

COVID-19

Local couple amongst hundreds of Canadians trying to get home from Peru

Mar 31, 2020 | 10:17 AM

A couple from the Melfort area are two of the hundreds of Canadians attempting to make their way home from Peru.

Russell Edwards from Melfort and Heather Hind from St. Brieux have been in the country for three weeks but say there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

NortheastNOW reached out to Edwards who said they have been under a general quarantine in Lima since March 15 due to COVID-19.

“We were supposed to leave on the 20th of March, on the 16th we were told that our flight was cancelled,” Edwards said. “We booked April 3rd tickets and those tickets were then cancelled as well.”

The couple landed first in Cusco on March 8 before heading to Lima on March 14. The quarantine was announced by the country’s president on the evening of March 15 and is set to last until today.

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“We have been stuck in our hotel room, only able to leave for groceries each day. Military stop you on corners asking for passports and demanding where you are going and where you are staying,” Edwards said.

Since the couple was supposed to leave on March 20, that is when time ran up at their Airbnb. They found a new place to stay but then an hour before they moved to the new location, the owner cancelled saying they were not allowing new people in because of the virus.

“We scrambled to find another one and luckily we did, but of course for more money,” Edwards said.

The Canadian Embassy informed Canadians that a code would be sent to them on Monday for flights out of Peru on Wednesday night.

“They send priority codes out earlier and then they send other codes for flights later. We have been getting the later codes and right as soon as we get codes we try to book but flights are already sold out,” Edwards said. “Honestly, the system is flawed and it’s like spinning a roulette wheel as to if you can book a flight.”

Costs are adding up for the couple as the stay is extended. Around $8,000 extra is what the couple is looking at and that is if they can get out now.

According to Edwards, Air Canada has said it will not refund the original flight but instead give them a credit.

“They are doing that and then charging $1,400 a person to get to Toronto and then you have to book another flight from there to get home which will be another $800 each at least,” Edwards said.

Frustration for the couple continues to build as they have watched a number of flights get so close to their grasp but then get cancelled or filled up before they get their chance at a seat.

“In Peru, there are far too many Canadians trying to get home and far too few planes to rescue us,” Edwards said.

On Tuesday morning, Edwards said they were able to secure themselves seats on the Wednesday night flight after getting their codes from Air Canada on Monday.

A new curfew was announced on Monday as well that would begin the following day from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., and anyone in violation of that order will be arrested.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser