A Mayo man living in China has begged the Irish Government to help him and his Chinese girlfriend come home in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Teacher Brian Queenan, 24, from Castlebar, cannot leave Beijing unless his girlfriend Lin is granted an emergency travel permit.
Brian was working as a secondary school teacher but as the virus spread across the country, his employment ceased.
His work visa expires in two weeks and he is desperate to return home but does not want to leave 21-year-old Lin as she is already cut off from her family.
Lin comes from Jiangxi in the south of China but is unable to return home because the roads into her village have been destroyed.
He told Independent.ie: "Without me, she will have no home to stay in. I need to get her an emergency visa so that she can come with me to Ireland until the crisis has stabilised.
"Many Irish citizens with partners or wives and children in China face this problem.
"We hope we can get the necessary help and that the Irish Government and the Irish embassy will not abandon us."
Several Irish people were evacuated from China last week but others like Brian who have Chinese partners stayed behind.
Brian added that he has been in touch with the Irish Embassy but he was dissatisfied with their response.
He said: "I called the embassy about my situation but they seem to rarely pick up the phone. I eventually got through and they told me to write my concerns in an email.
"They replied back saying that visa centres in Beijing are closed and that my girlfriend could not apply for a normal visa. They said they would let me know when they are open again. I felt totally ignored."
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs told Independent.ie: "Alongside our community organisations, they are working night and day to provide our citizens with advice and support to manage the restrictions that have been put place to contain this new epidemic."
They added that Ireland "is in regular contact with the Chinese authorities to provide all possible assistance."
