Andrew Neumann “has some hope” that a flight next week can bring him home
Andrew Neumann’s desire to take the holidays home has been challenged by the emergence of Omicron variants of the coronavirus and the rapid implementation of new pandemic border restrictions around the world.
In an interview, which aired on Saturday, South African Canadian Neumann said, “It’s actually a particularly delicate time.” He explained that his son had just started college in Toronto and was his first year away from his home. And there are other pressing issues.
“My wife’s father is very ill. He is in his 80s. He is receiving chemotherapy. My mother is 91 years old. She has a kind of cognitive decline. I haven’t seen her for two years, “he told host Chris Hall.
“And there’s another question mark in my head: can you say goodbye?” Neumann said.
Neumann has lived in Johannesburg since 2015. He plans to return to Canada on holiday when new travel restrictions are imposed on visitors from 10 countries, mainly in southern Africa.
Canadians attempting to return from these countries must now meet a series of additional testing and quarantine requirements.
Travelers must undergo a COVID19 molecular test 72 hours prior to departure, which Canadians are now accustomed to, but the test must be done in a third country. not one of the 10 countries on Canada’s list.
Neumann had intended to do a test when connecting in Germany, but additional rules applied there made that impossible.
Canada and Germany limits clash
In a letter Neumann received from the High Commissioner for Canada in South Africa, the German airline Lufthansa stated that it would not allow Canadians to board due to third-country testing requirements and restrictions introduced by Germany.
The situation at Neuman is very similar to that of the Canadian junior field hockey team, also stuck in South Africa. The team has applied for a special permit to leave the country.
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