…returning passenger excited to be back from US after 81 days

EARLY in March this year, Mohamed Yasar Hussain, his sister, his father and sister-in-law went to the wedding of a relative in the United States.

Days later, as the family prepared to travel back to their home on the West Coast Demerera, they received news that Guyana recorded its first case of the Coronavirus and soon after, air travel between the two countries was suspended, a move that saw the family staying in Florida, months longer than they expected.

Mohamed, his sister Bibi Sheleeza Hussain, his father Saiyad Hussain and sister-in-law, Kimmey Buchoon, would spend the next 81 days in Coral Springs, Florida but the thought of his pregnant wife and the fact that he is the main breadwinner of his family, saw Mohamed growing worried as the days numbered.

The quartet were among 137 passengers who returned to Guyana aboard an Eastern Airlines flight on Saturday afternoon, the first group of returnees from the US on a commercial flight since March when the CJIA was closed to all commercial air traffic by the authorities.

Mohamed told the Guyana Chronicle that the entire situation “was a very difficult experience.”

FLIGHT WAS OVERBOOKED
He said that he promised his cousin months before, that he would be at her wedding and since the cases in the US were low in number, he and his relatives decided to travel for a minimum of 14 days.

He said that about 12 hours before they were expected to travel on a Caribbean Airlines flight back to Guyana, they were told that the flight was completely booked and that they would have to make other arrangements. Despite desperate attempts, he said that the family realised that they would be in the United States for a very long time.

Added to this, he said his father is hypertensive and as such he only had enough medication to last him a month. He said that since the situation in Florida was scary as that state recorded a high number of COVID-19 cases, it was difficult to find medication for his father. He said medicine was sourced from Trinidad and Tobago and was shipped to the US via FEDEX. This provided relief to his father, who had only a three-day supply of medication when he arrived on Saturday.

Mohamed, who works in the private sector, noted that the expenses racked up by the family was enormous, adding that in order to return home on Saturday, the family pooled all their monies. He said Eastern Airlines offered the four a deal and this was one of the many last minute arrangements, which had to be put in place before they boarded the air carrier on Saturday.

LATE DEPARTURE
He said the Eastern Airlines flight was initially expected to depart at 08:00hrs on Saturday and since a curfew is in place in the area where the family stayed, they started making early arrangements to get to Miami International Airport.

He said that luckily for the family, when they were about to leave for the airport early Saturday morning, the air carrier representative called and informed them that the flight was rescheduled and this provided some time for them to travel and prepare. He noted that there entire flight was based on last minute arrangements.

He explained that on Wednesday, the family was informed by the authorities here that they can travel to Guyana providing they met the requisite requirements. He said this included mandatory COVID-19 tests which had to be done 48 hours before travel.

He said some hiccups in the arrangements were ironed out by the group of passengers who worked to ensure everyone was on the flight, noting that persons travelled for five to six hours from as far as Minnesota, New York among other states to be on the flight. ”We all tried, we worked together,” he said. Sadly, he noted, four persons who did not have the COVID-19 test done could not travel.

Mohamed said, although he isn’t sure if he still has his job, he is happy to be at home with his family. He will be home on quarantine for the next seven days and the Ministry of Public Health will continue to monitor the situation while keeping in contact with the family.
Mohamed said, “I landed in Guyana and my phone was the last thing I was thinking about , all I was thinking about was home.”