Former Zealand pacer Iain O’Brien has been struggling to find a flight to get back to his family in the UK. O’Brien, who played 22 Tests, 10 ODIs and four T20s for New Zealand between 2005-2009, said that he is worried about his wife’s health who has a lung condition, which puts her at great risk of getting infected in the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19: Stranded After Three Flight Cancellations
Reportedly, the 43-year-old from Wellington who lives with his wife Rosie and two kids — Alethea and Zain — in the UK, was in New Zealand to deal with some mental health issues that he has been working on.
He was quoted as saying by the ‘stuff.co.nz’, “The big bit for me is my wife has a lung condition where if she gets any sort of chest infection it can take time off her life.”
He further added, “This virus could kill her. With a couple of kids for her to deal with, and her mum is 80, there’s a fair bit on her plate at the moment. I would be kind of keen to take some of that stress off her but I think I’m just adding to it at the moment.”
The pandemic has claimed more than 16,000 lives globally so far, prompting countries to shut down borders and enter lockdown mode leaving thousands of tourists stranded.
O’Brien is among them and has spent hours and a lot of money to find a viable route back home. On Tuesday, his flight from Wellington to the UK was once again cancelled. He said, “It’s going to make stuff really tight, but I can’t complain. There are people in tougher situations than this. It’s just my wife that’s the worry. I want to get back, get through that two weeks (self-isolation), and then start helping out.”
Notably, it was his first visit to New Zealand in five years when midway through the trip, the coronavirus pandemic turned everything upside down.
He said, “I genuinely needed it for my soul. I’ve been going through some pretty tough mental health stuff for the last 6-7 months, and this was part of trying to deal with that. I’m fine. There were a couple of tears last night and a few more outside the airport this morning. It’s not undoing the goodness that this trip has been, but it’s not the finish I wanted. I didn’t get to see my brother (Blair) who I haven’t seen for five years.”
Being optimistic he further added, “But I’ll get home and everything will be all right. I’ll just have to come back again soon.”
