A man from Chatham-Kent is feeling lucky to be home after getting stranded abroad amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Border and airline restrictions left hockey player Dane Fox stuck in Denmark earlier this month. Fox, who currently plays for the Frederikshavn White Hawks, had to come home after Danish hockey league Metal Ligaen suspended play over coronavirus concerns.
"Other leagues in other countries were cancelling playoffs and we were just sitting there waiting and wondering if ours was going to be cancelled too," he said. "By the time we found out the team was sending us home, it was 5 o'clock at night on March 11. This is the same night a global pandemic was declared."
Fox was trying to return home with his dog and girlfriend, however, they faced some hurdles when it came to flying bans put in place by U.S. President Donald Trump. Fox said there was little time between the league's decision to cancel the season and Trump's announcement of closing borders to all non-citizens.
"That didn't give us enough time to pack the apartment, get a vet appointment and catch a flight to the United States before the border closed that Friday," he said.
Additionally, Fox’s emotional support dog, Gunner, is a boxer breed and is not allowed to be shipped on Canadian airlines in cargo, making flights directly into his home country nearly impossible and the reason he normally chooses to fly into the United States when he comes home.
Fox said at first the situation didn't seem too dire, he assumed he would eventually be able to catch a flight home just like he routinely does at the end of every other hockey season. But as worries about COVID-19 began to grow across the globe, Fox knew this would be far from a routine trip back to Chatham-Kent.
"It started getting real when we would get a plan set and start making arrangements, only to wake up and have to change the entire plan again because another country was shutting down and was not allowing non-citizens in. I think we were all a little concerned and worried," he said.
According to Fox, it took hours on the phone with airline companies and countless last-minute attempts to try and secure rental cars and accommodations for the journey home. And that was only the beginning.
"After about four days of planning, my dog, girlfriend and I packed the rental car on Wednesday, March 18 and drove over four hours from Frederikshavn to Copenhagen, Denmark," explained Fox. "We then boarded a flight and flew two hours from Copenhagen to Paris, France. Seeing as these were the only two flights we could book, we had to get an Airbnb for two nights in Paris. We were isolated in the Airbnb until Friday when we headed to the airport and flew nine hours from Paris to Calgary."
The trio then caught a flight from Calgary to Toronto. Once they landed in Toronto, they were picked up by Fox's brother around 12:30 a.m. and arrived safely back in Chatham around 3:30 a.m. on March 21.
Fox said the concern and worry didn't start to go away until they finally landed back on Canadian soil. They had planned ahead of time to self-isolate for two weeks and asked family members to gather up 14 days worth of supplies for them before their arrival.
Fox said when they arrived at customs in Calgary, they were thoroughly questioned about the coronavirus. They arrived back in Canada four days before it was mandated that Canadians returning from overseas quarantine for two weeks.
"They asked us if we visited certain countries... if we had a fever or a cough," he explained. "They had us check off 'yes' to being self-aware to the guidelines of self-isolation and that we agree to self-isolate once returning home."
Fox and his girlfriend are now a few days shy of finishing up their quarantine.
