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Arizona mother and daughter stranded in Peru after travel is restricted due to virus
A trip meant for family reunions and experiencing the Peruvian culture turned into process to get home for a Laveen family.
PHOENIX - A trip meant for family reunions and experiencing the Peruvian culture turned into process to get home for a Laveen family.
Maria Bailey and her daughter Aspen quickly learned they were stuck in Peru once the coronavirus spread shutdown travel back to the United States.
Bailey said panic set in when she heard the news. She felt panic of the unknown.
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They were on initially was an 11-day trip, but that turned into an additional 13 days in the country.
"I wanted to give my daughter a great graduation gift," Bailey said. "On the day we were leaving, that's when all the flights got cancelled. Our flight to [Los Angeles] was the first to be cancelled."
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They were eventually put on a chartered U.S. Embassy flight back to the states with not only memories to last a lifetime, but with a whole new perspective on how the state is handling the crisis.
"When you look at Peru's numbers of how many are infected and deaths, it is less as a country than we have in Arizona. There is something to be said for that," Bailey said.
Adding, "I don’t think they’re taking it as seriously as they should be. I don’t walk in everybody else’s shoes but what I do know is I live with my elderly mother who already has an compromised immune system. I believe that anybody who has any type of issue like that, even then you just don’t know who you’re going to come in contact with, I believe that there should be some more put in place laws, restrictions to stop the spread."
The two arrived to Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport around midnight Friday.