The trip promised to be idyllic but it finally turned into a disaster.
Of the 22 retirees from Moselle who left for Costa Rica on January 16, as part of an organized trip, 16 are still there awaiting repatriation.
Their departure, scheduled for January 27, was first postponed due to the strengthening of health standards for entry into the Netherlands, the country through which they had to transit.
Six travelers subsequently tested positive, then twenty.
Six are hospitalized, including two in a "very serious" condition.
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Covid-19: sixteen French retirees stranded in Costa Rica
"Today there are 4 (French tourists, editor's note) who have just left (towards France, editor's note) via Madrid but all the others have remained confined", testifies Guy Poirot, President of the Social Action Group from eastern France.
To return to France, a negative test is necessary but some travelers ask for immediate repatriation.
In the meantime, retirees who are not hospitalized stay at the hotel, thus considerably increasing the cost of this trip.
"We want the tests to speed up so that obviously people can leave (to France, editor's note) as and when things are going.
We also want help for additional hotel and restaurant costs, ”calls Guy Poirot.