Photo supplied of Kelly Rooney
A Thunder Bay woman and her daughter are stranded in Botswana during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kelly Rooney and her daughter arrived in the country in Southern Africa on December 1st and were supposed to leave on March 29th, however, the escalating coronavirus situation caused that to change.
Rooney tells us Botswana has been on an extreme lockdown for 28 days and there have been no flights leaving the country since March 28th.
“An evacuation flight may be announced in the coming days for Candian and American citizens according to the Zimbabwe Canadian Embassy. The US Embassy is organizing a flight and there are seats available, so we may be able to get on board,” Rooney said.
The Thunder Bay resident says she is lucky and blessed to have a roof overhead and food in her belly.
“We are laying low and waiting things out and hopefully we will be able to get home in the next month or so,” Rooney said.
Rooney’s parents and family are back in Thunder Bay and she tells us she’s been in touch with them.
The Thunder Bay woman says she is impressed with how Botswana has handled the COVID-19 pandemic saying “they’ve only had 4 cases in the country and the are already in a full lockdown situation.”
