Justin Trudeau is asking Canadians abroad to come home now. It’s not that easy | CBC News

Prime Minster Justin Trudeau had a blunt but simple message on Monday for Canadians travelling outside the country: If you’re abroad, it’s time to come home.

But as the coronavirus outbreak has prompted border restrictions and flight cancellations around the world, many travellers are struggling to return sooner than planned.

“You can’t get ahold of anybody, you can’t actually get a flight home,” Ottawa resident Saralyn Hodgkin, who is with her husband and two boys in Costa Rica, told CBC News Network.

“I’m stressed out. I’m well and I’m healthy and I’m stressed out.”

WATCH | An Ottawa resident in Costa Rica talks about being ‘stressed out’ over travel arrangements:

Despite concerns about the coronavirus, an Ottawa family in Costa Rica is trying to make the best of their vacation. 6:25

Hodgkin said her family has a return flight booked for Thursday, but wanted to come home earlier, and they have been trying to contact Air Canada.

“It just didn’t work out. People are not available, phone lines are not available,” she said. “It’s frustrating and challenging.”

Anthony Eric Williams, a professor in McGill University’s department of earth and planetary sciences, along with five students, had travelled to Morocco for an annual two-week geological field trip. However, they are now stuck in Casablanca, having discovered on Sunday morning that their flights back to Canada had been cancelled.

WATCH | Justin Trudeau urges Canadians abroad to return home:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that Canada will ban entry to most non-residents, except U.S. citizens. He’s urging Canadians abroad to travel back to Canada as quickly as possible. 24:51

“We’re trying to do things very methodically, so literally we have spent all of our time contacting — online — airline companies, travel agencies … to try and get us out of this country to anywhere that might then allow us to get back to Montreal,” he said.