A DALE family is on tenterhooks as they wait for news that their daughter will return home from Peru.
Tess Bettison, from Bowes, became trapped in the country on Sunday, March 15, when Peru’s president, Martin Vizcarra, closed the borders because of the coronavirus pandemic.
She had been due to fly out of the country on Wednesday, March 18.
Miss Bettison had been touring South America with a friend after completing her degree in international relations last year.
Her family heard on Saturday that flights are being arranged to bring all Britons trapped in the country back to the UK.
Her dad, Mike, said: “They had been on a long holiday. They had been through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and into Peru. As soon as they got there they realised things were getting desperate and booked a flight home.”
The 22-year old had been due to continue on to Ecuador and the Galapagos.
Mr Bettison said: “We have had no details yet but the Foreign Office has issued a statement that they will be flown home. We are optimistic and hopeful.
“We have heard they may be using military airports – whether that is in Peru or here, I don’t know. Whether they will be put in isolation, we don’t know.”
His other daughter, Connie, had been working in the education department and library of a botanical gardens in America and was not due back in the UK until May. She returned this week.
The issue was raised in parliament by shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry on Wednesday, March 18, after a group was formed to campaign for the government to take action.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Many of those who are stranded have got together to collect details of all who are stuck in Peru in a database – including full health and contact details – that has now reached 250 people.”
They said other countries such as Germany, Poland, Spain and Israel had already organised flights to bring their citizens home.
