Nanny’s flight to end her ordeal

A Tasmanian woman working in Canada is expected to return home next week after finding herself stuck in limbo in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Lucy Eade is working in Canada as a nanny.

A TASMANIAN woman working in Canada is expected to return home next week after finding herself stuck in limbo in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Hobart’s Lucy Eade has been working as a nanny for a host family in a city in British Columbia, about 40 minutes’ drive from Vancouver, since August last year.

Miss Eade told the Mercury earlier this week she was desperate to come back to Tasmania, but she didn’t know when, given travel restrictions in Canada.

Lucy Eade is working in Canada as a nanny.

She has since secured a flight and is set to arrive in Hobart on Wednesday, the day before her 24th birthday.

She will be subject to a 14-day self-quarantine upon her return, in line with regulations adopted nationally.

Miss Eade explained measures in Canada to contain the virus had made her efforts to return to Australia uncertain.

Lucy Eade is working in Canada as a nanny. She is pictured with the children of her host family, Makaio (3) and Kiera (4).

“They’ve closed the borders so no one can get in unless they are a Canadian citizen or American citizen, and they are starting to cut down flights,’’ she said.

“[Canadian airline] Westjet have stopped all flights for 30 days, and currently schools are out until September and all the gyms have shut down.”

Miss Eade said she had been stressed about the possibility of not being able to return home — and when she does return to Tasmania, she said there would be challenges for her and her family.

Lucy Eade is working in Canada as a nanny.

“My family were planning to come here in June, and now they are dealing with the fact I have to rush home,’’ she said.

“When I go home, I can’t go to my parents’ house because my dad is immunocompromised and [potential exposure to the virus] would make him very sick.

“And my brother Adam has young children, so it’s rough on all of us right now.”

But Miss Eade said her host family in Canada had been supportive of her and the situation she found herself in.

[e-mail]