A group of New Zealanders stranded aboard the Coral Princess cruise ship are desperate to get home. They have written an open letter calling on the Government to help.
The group of 17 Kiwis has been banned from disembarking at three ports in South America.
The cruise ship is now heading to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the US to try and disembark there. But it is looking unlikely as the travel restrictions tighten and New Zealand nears its four-week lockdown period.
An excerpt from the letter addressed to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters reads:
“We are helpless against the forces that work against our safe and timely return to New Zealand, and we can only rely on our Government and elected representatives to rescue us seventeen Kiwi souls from this unforeseen and unprecedented predicament.
“Once again, we have complete faith in our Government and elected representative to bring all 17 of us home safely and home soon... leaving no man behind.”
Kiwi Allan Ong is on the boat with his wife. He told 1 NEWS it has been a harrowing ordeal.
"The thought of having to stay two or three months in a foreign land when all these things are happening, not knowing what's happening back home or around the world without family, friends or country … It's not a good situation,” said Mr Ong.
Another stranded Kiwi couple who have been trying to get home from Peru are uncertain as to what the immediate future holds for them.
Many travel options are becoming restricted due to the coronavirus epidemic, and New Zealand officially goes into a four-week lockdown at 11:59 tonight.
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