Coronavirus: Trainee medic from Northern Ireland trapped in Peru

A trainee medic from Co Down who is stranded in a hostel in Peru has told of the moment she returned from a mountain trek to find the country was in lockdown.
By Graeme Cousins
Published 25th Mar 2020, 14:52 BST
Co Down medical student Amy Brennan had only arrived in Peru when she heard her eight-week placement had been cancelledCo Down medical student Amy Brennan had only arrived in Peru when she heard her eight-week placement had been cancelled
Co Down medical student Amy Brennan had only arrived in Peru when she heard her eight-week placement had been cancelled

Amy Brennan, a 22-year-old from Hillsborough who is in the city of Arequipa with two fellow medical students from the University of Sheffield, said: “When we came down from the hike we connected to Wi-Fi and found that they had announced a travel lockdown.

“By the time we got word of it there was no time to get to Lima and get a flight home so we’re just stuck in a hostel.”

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The city in which Amy is staying is around 17 hours away from capital Lima and 10 hours from Cusco, Peru’s other main city.

Amy Brennan, a 22-year-old medical student from Hillsborough, Co Down is stranded in PeruAmy Brennan, a 22-year-old medical student from Hillsborough, Co Down is stranded in Peru
Amy Brennan, a 22-year-old medical student from Hillsborough, Co Down is stranded in Peru

She said: “There’s about 40 Europeans in our hostel, six British. We’re aware of 36 British citizens in Arequipa.”

Of the mood in the hostel she said: “It’s quite good actually. We’re still allowed to use communal areas. In other hostels people have been confined to their rooms.

“There are curfews imposed and if you’re caught outside you get arrested.

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“We’ve been told they’re putting on repatriation flights this week some time. We’re just waiting on news on that, dates and times.”

Amy (left) is in Peru with two fellow medical students from Sheffield UniversityAmy (left) is in Peru with two fellow medical students from Sheffield University
Amy (left) is in Peru with two fellow medical students from Sheffield University

Amy went to Peru with two other medical students on an eight-week medical elective placement: “The day after we arrived they cancelled the elective in the hospital in Lima (because of Covid-19), a few hours after that our medical school lead emailed everyone and said all overseas electives were cancelled. By that time we were already out there.

“The medical school lead advised us not to return to the UK at that time.”

Instead Amy was travelling to see friends in Cusco who were also on a placement: “We were on our way to Cusco via Arequipa when we got the news. It was after a hike in Colca Canyon that we found out. The consulate had been trying to get in contact but we’d had no signal for two days.

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“It happened so quickly. There was no warning at all about a lockdown. It went from everything being completely normal to no public transport, no cars, no buses, everyone has to be inside for the next two weeks. There was no time to get anywhere.

“It was really scary when we got the news because we didn’t have Wi-Fi so it was very difficult to update our parents about what was happening. Since we’ve been in the hostel we have Wi-Fi and it’s been fine getting in contact with everyone.”

Amy, who is a fourth-year medical student, said: “I know the year above have been fast tracked to become F1s, but they haven’t said anything about our year. I don’t know if there’ll be volunteering opportunities, I’m sure there will. We could definitely be a lot of help back home.”

Related topics:Northern Ireland