Yorkshire backpacker in quarantine in Malaysia after lockdown announced

A 20-year-old woman on a round-the-world backpacking trip has decided to remain in Malaysia once the country goes into lockdown.
Sheffield backpacker Ann Holmes, 20, is under quarantine in MalaysiaSheffield backpacker Ann Holmes, 20, is under quarantine in Malaysia
Sheffield backpacker Ann Holmes, 20, is under quarantine in Malaysia

Ann Holmes, from Ecclesfield, near Sheffield, and her boyfriend Adam Mace will remain in their apartment in Kuala Lumpur after opting against trying to fly back to the UK before compulsory quarantine regulations are enforced in Malaysia from tomorrow (March 18).

They will have to stay inside for two weeks and have stocked up on essential supplies.

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Ann said that deciding what to do had been difficult as they could not understand many of the bulletins on local news channels, but eventually found a radio station broadcasting in English.

The couple only arrived in Malaysia on February 20 and have previously visited Thailand, Japan and Vietnam as part of their round-the-world trip.

"We decided to stay in Malaysia under quarantine. It made much more sense than starting the 18-hour journey home, only to not have anywhere to quarantine ourselves and putting more people at risk

"The most difficult thing this morning was trying to stock up with two weeks worth of shopping without panic buying. We managed to get cheese and Branston pickle for sandwiches though!

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"We were only supposed to be here for a couple of weeks but we're now at a month - we didn't want to move anywhere too remote in case things got worse. We decided it would be putting more people at risk if we started the journey home then isolating for two weeks, especially as we could be carrying the virus without knowing. As for now, it seems to make sense to stay here and wait for further information."

Ann has been blogging about her travel and lockdown experiences on Youtube here.

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