The advent of coronavirus saw the world shut down at an unprecedented level. This meant a lot of folks were stuck at home, but many of them were trapped in the most unlikeliest of places. You never imagine that you’ll be in some strange, faraway land with no way of getting home, and yet it happened to a lot of people. Here’s a few.
1. Trapped at a music festival in a distant island in Panama.
The Tribal Gathering Festival in Panama was placed under quarantine in March. What was designed to be a temporary paradise where attendants could learn about indigenous communities turned into a hell on earth as the good vibes gave way to anger, confusion, and a lack of resources among the people. There are apparently people still stuck on that island.
2. Sailing family gets stuck in uninhabited island in the Bahamas.
The crew of a boat called Delos, which consists of a couple and their little baby, have actually done their isolation in the Ragged Islands – an uninhabited island paradise located in the very southern portion of the Bahamas. Since ports are closed and movement is restricted for sailing vessels, they have been making their own power aboard the boat, and also fishing for food. They’ve been documenting it on YouTube, check it out!
3. German man who was stranded due to lockdown lived in Delhi airport for 50 days.
40-year-old Edgard Ziebat got stranded at the transit in Delhi airport after India stopped all in and outbound flights in March. While most stranded passengers were taken back by their country’s embassies, Germany refused to take Ziebat due to his criminal record of assault and other crimes at home and India also didn’t grant him a visa because of the same reason. So he stayed alone in the airport terminal with only his luggage for 54 days, reading, walking around, and using the airport toilets.
4. Many people endured lockdown on cruise ships around the world, stuck in cramped rooms.
Passengers on massive cruise ships like the Diamond Princess, World Dream, and Zaandam, who were ostensibly there on vacation, found themselves indefinitely stuck aboard these ships. Some of the turned into coronavirus hotspots themselves, with fatalities. As ports kep closing, and passengers weren’t allowed to disembark, these ships kept floating around, locked down in the water.
5. People spent lockdown stuck in a submarine.
The entire crew of a nuclear submarine named Orel, along with a civilian contractor who had stepped onboard for a business trip were locked down in the submarine after it was found that he had been in contact with someone who had tested positive. In total, it was around a 100 people quarantined in a submarine.
6. 3 young women from London were quarantined in an abandoned hospital in Vietnam. It was originally an asylum.
It sounds like the stuff of nightmares, but 3 women who flew to Vietnam on a flight that had a Covid positive person were forced to quarantine in an abandoned hospital with no shower. This was after they had tested negative, but had to stay isolated for 14 more days in order to make sure they didn’t have it. The place was originally an asylum, and was apparently very scary at night.
7. The cast of Big Brother Germany stayed locked down in the Big Brother house.
As the pandemic unfolded and let loose on Germany, the cast of its version of Big Brother remained blissfully unaware of the goings-on outside. However, after a few weeks, they were told about the situation live on air. All the contestants remained in the Big Brother house as it was considered one of the safest places for them, as they were already in a form of quarantine.
So if you managed to be at home when lockdown was enforced, thank your stars!