INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Several Indiana college students are among more than 1,000 Americans currently stranded in Peru with no way to get back.
They are stuck there after the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency, mandating a 15-day quarantine after the coronavirus outbreak.
"I'm safe and working on doing everything I can to get back, but the U.S. Embassy is closed," said Abigail Smith, a student at DePauw University.
Smith is in Cusco for an internship with Globalteer, a charity organization that helps set up volunteer projects in Peru.
"I've been here for three months. I've received no news of Peru until now. We have a chain of contact. The charity I work for will tell us something via group message and we tell all the other Americans here," Smith said.
Kyle Hart is a fourth year medical student from Indiana University. He's in Trujillo for a medical elective. He said was visiting a nearby beach town when he heard the news.
"We were kind of panicking because they were banning travel within the country, so we weren't sure we were going to get back to Trujillo. Luckily we caught a bus the next morning at 5:30 in the morning just before the travel restrictions kicked in at 8 a.m.," said Hart.
Hart has been in Peru for six weeks and is not scheduled to return home until the end of March.
"This past week, I wasn't in the hospital and they called a state of emergency, so I'm not really able to do anything," Hart said. "I was set to have match day this Friday where we would find out where we are going for residency and they canceled all the match day celebrations."
Michael Kuzma, from Avon, is a student at Bradley University. He said he planned a trip to Peru with his friends for a year. When they got the news, they raced to pack their bags and head to the airport. They arrived one hour before it opened.
"There were police with riot gear outside (the airport) due to this impending plume of people coming through. We waited four-and-a-half hours at the airport to talk to someone trying to see if we could buy a flight out," Kuzma said.
Kuzma and his friends said there was never any direct guidance from the government.
"That was 28 hours notice (the president) gave for everyone in order to evacuate the country no matter where you're from, which, logistically speaking, is physically not possible" said Charlie Barchett, of Peoria, Illinois.
Kuzma, Barchett and Jeremy Rapp, also a student at Bradley University, met other Americans at the airport and started creating an online contact sheet.
"That spreadsheet has ballooned. That list, when we checked it, had 1,068 Americans with over 550 in Cusco," Barchett said.
Peru's government established strict rules during the 15-day quarantine.
"If you are out between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. you'll be arrested, and they prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol for the duration of the quarantine," Hart said.
Another Hoosier, Mary McCusky from Madison, was on vacation with Gate 1 Peruvian Adventure.
In an email to Eyewitness News she wrote: "They (Gate 1) provided housing for two nights and since then we are responsible for our own expenses, even with travel insurance. We can travel to the pharmacy or small market but the hours and numbers are limited. We were escorted by police on Tuesday when we needed to visit another hotel for a meeting with our tour group. Today we were told only one person at a time could visit the pharmacy."
The U.S. Embassy in Peru said Americans stuck there should arrange lodging for the duration of the quarantine period.
In a time of uncertainty, their spirits remain high.
"We have dance parties, making our own UNO cards out of paper and color pencils. Just filling the time with whatever we can," said Hart.
Smith stressed the need for Americans in the U.S. to practice social distancing.
"If the 15 days ends here, I would like to go back home, but if in those 15 days the U.S. is on lockdown and I can't get back into the country, that would also be a problem,” Smith said.