NI man ‘stuck’ in South Africa fears hotel quarantine costs

A NI man, who is currently stuck in South Africa, is concerned about an expensive quarantine on his return home.
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Daniel May, who left in late December to spend a month with his elderly aunt and uncle, is currently staying with them in Johannesburg after his flights were cancelled.

From Craigavon in Co Armagh, Daniel flew to South Africa on December 29, said he is concerned about how and when he is getting home.

It has been claimed the UK and Republic of Ireland governments are considering making it mandatory for people coming from countries such as South Africa to stay in a ‘quarantine hotel’.

Daniel and Linda May in South Africa.Daniel and Linda May in South Africa.
Daniel and Linda May in South Africa.

Daniel’s sister Linda, a dance teacher in Craigavon, flew out two weeks ago to join Daniel and their aunt and uncle Colm and Maureen Burns from Lurgan.

The couple had moved to South Africa around 20 years ago and Daniel loves to go over to visit when he can.

A former sales executive with the Portadown Times and News Letter, Daniel now works as the Operations Director/Editor of the magazine GNI.

He said he had planned to go for one month while his sister was to travel for two weeks. Now both are stuck thousands of miles from home.

Daniel May.Daniel May.
Daniel May.

As he is self employed, he is concerned about getting back to work as is his sister. “We will be losing money as well due to not being able to work.”

Daniel said his airline, KLM issued a statement on January 21 that it had cancelled all flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Amsterdam in order to comply with the new regulation issued by the Dutch government.

He said: “KLM have extended the ban, though they are flying us home on Saturday 6th February via France.

“So we are here for an extra week. And the icing on the cake is we have to quarantine at home or possibly in one of these quarantine hotels

Daniel May with his cousin Zena and sister LindaDaniel May with his cousin Zena and sister Linda
Daniel May with his cousin Zena and sister Linda

“It’s been lovely. But I need to get home for work,” said Daniel.

He has enjoyed his time in South Africa and explained that the restrictions there had been less stringent than at home.

“All retail shops are open. The only thing we have come across as closed is water parks. But there is a total alcohol ban. You can drink at home but you can’t go out and have a drink.

“Everything else is open and it is business as usual. They are very strict with their masks and sanitation over here, which I think is a breath of fresh air.

Linda and Daniel May with their cousins Zena and Donald.Linda and Daniel May with their cousins Zena and Donald.
Linda and Daniel May with their cousins Zena and Donald.

“There are worse places we could be stuck,” said Daniel.

He said they have enough money for food. “Enough to keep us for a week that wasn’t planned. We have to pay for an additional PCR test.

“When we left it wasn’t compulsory to have the PCR test to come back, so now we have to pay for that. I don’t know how much that will be.

“If we have to go to these quanantine hotels, there’s talk of that being £1k or £1500 each.”

Daniel said he hasn’t been too worried about the virus as they have kept themselves to themselves. “Though our families do worry with being older,” he added.

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