Among those looking for a way home is Rebecca St-Pierre, a 19-year-old student from Trois-Rivieres, Que., who said she feels abandoned, not knowing how she’ll pay for her hotel room as her stay is extended indefinitely. She said she tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday and is now in isolation in Tulum, south of Cancun. She estimated that about 30 others on the flight have tested positive.
“The organizer just left everybody. I don’t know who’s still here. All the flights have been cancelled,” an emotional St-Pierre told The Canadian Press.
St-Pierre said she won the free trip in a contest on Instagram and had never previously heard of the organizer, who identifies himself on social media as James William Awad. “I was expecting a relaxing week, where I was going to be careful,” she said. “But this turns out to be an expensive trip for something that was supposed to be free.”
She acknowledged that the videos give an accurate picture of what went on during the five-hour flight to Cancun.
“There was no social distancing, I think people were doing drugs,” St-Pierre said. She said that ahead of the scheduled return trip, some people were putting Vaseline up their noses in an attempt to thwart COVID-19 testing.