‘It’s very frustrating because we’re so close, but yet so far away’ – ‘Covid Curtain' keeping loved ones apart 

On that flight to Vilnius in February, I read a story about a bizarre virus in China and a doctor who was warning authorities that it could break out and kill millions of people.

At the time, I tossed the newspaper aside, oblivious to what was yet to come.

Moma (83) lives alone in Vilnius and, thankfully, has now been fully vaccinated. She is a talented artist and, in the winter, her local library hung some of her paintings up in a special exhibition.

Sadly, none of her family got to see it in person, if you don’t count seeing photographs from the event.

There have been many reports of a pandemic baby boom and my sister Skaiste will welcome her first child in a matter of days.

She lives with her husband in beautiful Amsterdam, which I normally visit at least twice a year. The last time I saw her was also my grandmother’s funeral.

When she welcomes her daughter, neither me nor my parents will be able to go and visit her in the hospital, or see her baby in her early days, weeks or even months.

Heartbreakingly, her little girl may be a little toddler before we finally get to meet her.

We are not alone – tens of thousands of Irish families and couples have been separated by travel restrictions, mandatory hotel quarantine and heavy fines on non-essential travel.

While travelling to see your family is permitted on compassionate grounds, such as for a funeral, travelling for social visits is not allowed in most countries.

Carlow woman Ada Mulhern has not seen her partner Del, who lives in Texas, for over a year – and with the US on the list for mandatory hotel quarantine, it is unlikely she will see him any time soon.

“I feel like a criminal just travelling through my country to go and be with the person I love,” she said.

“He’s my everything.”

She said that while they are both very committed to each other, the distance and the long period without seeing each other gets her anxious: “Even though I know we are OK, there are times where I have to say, ‘Is everything OK?’

“Because we don’t have the freedom of seeing each other without huge ordeals and running the risks of fines,” she explained.

Opposition parties have come down hard on the mandatory hotel quarantine system right from its inception, arguing that all countries should be included to reduce the risk of bringing in new variants and to reduce cases.

Nphet recommended mandatory hotel quarantine in May 2020, with health chiefs arguing that to get to grips with the transmission of the virus and keep it under control, arrivals must undergo strict quarantine.

Non-essential travel abroad has been banned right from the beginning of the pandemic.

However, more transmissible variants have made their way into the country regardless, with nearly all cases now the B117 variant.

Health officials are also keeping a close eye on other variants of concern – such as the Brazillian and South African variants – the case counts of which are very slowly increasing.

The EU is currently working on a digital vaccine passport, which may provide relief to families and partners who have been forcibly separated by travel restrictions.

Until then, the advice is clear: do not travel.

This is difficult to hear for expats who haven’t been able to visit their families in over a year, but also for Anne-Sophie Noel and Tiernan Hatchell, who are looking to start their lives soon in Belfast.

Anne-Sophie Noel, who lives in Quebec, Canada and Tiernan Hatchell, who lives in Armagh, met online and have been together for four years.

While Canada allows passengers into the country on a family exemption, frustratingly, Tiernan would face a hefty €2,000 fine if he travelled to Dublin to catch a flight across the pond.

“It’s very frustrating because we’re so close, but yet so far away. The travel exemption is recognised on one side but not from the Irish side,” said Anne-Sophie.

“It feels really hopeless. It seems nobody cares.”

Anne-Sophie and Ada are both part of an international Love Is Not Tourism group, which aims to raise awareness about couples and families which have been forcibly separated due to travel restrictions.

The international group has more than 40,000 members on Facebook.

“Even when they talk about reopening, we’ve heard nothing about families being separated, we’ve heard about that from no-one,” added Anne-Sophie.

“We can deal with not seeing each other for some time, we say goodbye but have a plan. But now, we don’t know and can’t plan.”

Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland