A Greater Victoria area couple is desperate to get home after their vacation was cut short amidst COVID-19 fears – desperate enough to spend $15,000 to buy several return tickets.
Kathleen and John McCann planned on staying in Marrakesh, Morocco until March 31, but the spread of COVID-19 has disrupted their plans.
Morocco closed all public places, including movie theatres, sports arenas, and mosques, effective Monday, March 16, while shops selling necessary goods and restaurants that deliver remain open. The country had 37 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with one death and one recovery as of Monday.
“We’re in a lucky situation where we can afford this,” Kathleen said. “We’ve shelled out lots of money to make this happen. Hopefully everything goes according to plan so we can make it home.”
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While the McCanns at least have a plan and the resources to make it happen, other British Columbians aren’t so lucky.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week that Global Affairs will offer up to a $5,000 loan to Canadians stuck abroad. He urged them to come home before more borders are closed and to email sos@gc.ca for aid.
However, he acknowledged that with about 3 million Canadians abroad at any time, that may not be possible.
“It is just realistic to know that some of them will not be coming home in the coming weeks,” he said.
Kathleen was excited to visit Morocco for the first time after her husband last visited nearly 50 years ago. They were set to visit the Sahara Desert in the coming days. On Sunday, they went to the Casablanca International Airport, only to discover what John described as ‘total madness’.
“[There was] screaming, crying, shouting,” he said. “Zero help from airport personnel.”
The couple is still in the process of trying to get some airline ticket refunds.
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They are staying in a small hotel on the outskirts of Marrakesh while they await their Air France flight from Casablanca to Paris. From France, they will head to Toronto and then back to Victoria.
On Thursday, the Victoria couple will pack their bags and hope that their flight won’t be cancelled, as Morocco had banned most international flights as of March 13. Otherwise, they might end up stuck at the small hotel in Marrakesh, which the couple says “could be much worse.”
– with files from Kat Slepian
aaron.guillen@goldstreamgazette.com
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