Coronavirus: More than 170 Russian citizens ‘abandoned’ in New Zealand – Stuff.co.nz

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Maria Ivanova and her husband are fighting to help Russian tourists stranded in New Zealand get home.

A group of Russian tourists stranded in New Zealand have been given just $50 to tide them over.

When the coronavirus outbreak shut down global borders, many tourists were stranded all over the world.

Since March 31 more than 14,000 Russians stuck in countries overseas have been flown home in dribs and drabs.

But not from New Zealand, and a group of some 174 Russian nationals desperate to return to their "motherland" have been told to keep waiting with no definitive end date in sight.

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Maria Ivanova parents are among the "abandoned" and she is calling for answers from both governments on behalf of her community, which she says is doing it tough.

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The Russian Embassy in Messines Rd, Wellington.

Ivanova has lived in New Zealand for 11 years but had her parents fly over to be here for the birth of her childin February.

They were booked to return to Moscow in late March, but those flights were cancelled and they are still here.

Through community Facebook groups, Ivanova, who lives in Titirangi in West Auckland, quickly found out her parents were not alone.

The group of stranded Russians are now in regular contact with each other, the Russian Embassy in Wellington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), trying to get some answers on when they can return home.

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Ivanova's parents came here in February for the birth of her daughter.

"It's getting pretty desperate to be honest," Ivanovasaid.

"The majority [of the 174]are on tourist visas so came here with a set budget like my parents did. And when you have to stay on longer that money dries up pretty quickly.

"Many are older and are also running out of medicine and stuff like that so though it's not at crisis level yet, it's heading that way fast."

The Russian government has implemented a financial support program for stranded citizens like Ivanova's parents.

More than 10,000 test positive for Covid-19 in a day in Russia. Officials put this down to increased testing.

Those who had booked return tickets from March 16 to May 31 are eligible to get financial support through the government services website.

However, the site is currently experiencing technical problems which meanssome people have been unable to access any funds.

"Even those who got their applications through and weren't denied, they only received $50,"Ivanovasaid.

"My understanding was it was supposed to be $50 a day but to date those few who have received support have only got the one-off payment."

The Kiwi-Russian community has rallied around those stuck here, offering food and accommodation to those in the most need.

Sergei Glagolev, the second secretary at the Russian Embassy, said work is being done to get the group home and to work out the issues with the online servers.

According to embassy estimates there are still some30,000 Russians stranded around the world, Glagolev said.

"We would like to emphasise that Russia is not refusing to bring back its citizens from other countries," he said.

"This work is being carried out with due account of the sanitary-epidemiological situation that is taking shape in Russia and the real capacity to receive arriving people and put them in two-week quarantine.

"Certain repatriation flights are organised after a discussion in the Government Emergency Response Centre, which is making a schedule based on the current situation and capacity in Russias regions."

Russia hasmore than 166,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and more than 1500 deaths.

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Coronavirus: More than 170 Russian citizens 'abandoned' in New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz