Stuck in Australia with no plausible way home yet, Perth, Ontario native Rebecca Seward is waiting things out.
At least for now, the 23-year-old is staying with her friend’s family as the virus continues to shut down airports and just about everything else.
She left for Thailand in January, with stops in Cambodia and Vietnam following that, before deciding to head to Australia a little earlier than scheduled as the coronavirus spread rapidly.
Seward says she’s thankful for not having to worry about where she’ll sleep or eat, but she does have a looming concern, as her return date is now up in the air.
She says her family encouraged her to come home while in Vietnam, but when there weren’t available direct flights, a choice was made to head to the island in hopes there’d be better luck there.
The country is just now closing schools and businesses Seward said, noting they’re practicing social distancing over there. From what she’s heard and read on the news, Australia lags Canada in actions being taken by about a week or so.
Seward reiterated a few times she’s one of the lucky ones and her situation will eventually be sorted, and there’s lots of families dealing with illness and death from COVID-19, which puts her situation into perspective.
written by Grant Deme
EXTENDED INTERVIEW (the interview has been edited for clarity and brevity)