A hairdresser has told holidaymakers to stay at home – after facing a month off work when she tested positive for Covid-19 in Ibiza.
Kimberly McIlwham, 28, is stuck in a quarantine hotel on the Balearic island for ten days and faces another ten days in isolation when she gets back to Scotland because of the rule changes.
Kimberly, who only went to the island for a long weekend, said: “I’d say to everyone thinking about going on holiday abroad to think twice. It’s just not worth it.
“If I could go back in time I’d say to myself, ‘don’t bother.’
“I came out here for five days but it is going to be much more than that. I will be in quarantine for ten days at least.
“After that I’ll need to organise a flight home and quarantine at home for ten days after Ibiza was put back on the amber list.
"I’ve not been vaccinated yet.
“So that takes me up to the start of August.
“It’s having a huge impact on my work and I’m having to cancel clients who were booked for when I return.
“This short trip has just turned into a nightmare.
“People should be wary of how risky a trip abroad is at the moment.”
Speaking from the Spanish Government run Hotel La Noria on the island she said: “I thought everything would be ok after they lifted travel restrictions but I was wrong.
“Ibiza was put on the green list so I thought it would be fine to travel to. How wrong I was.”
Kimberly, from Neilston, East Renfrewshire, said she booked the last-minute holiday to meet friends with Jet2.
Self-employed Kimberly said Covid had stretched her business to breaking point with months of not being able to work and she was looking forward to a short break.
Mandatory lateral flow tests were done before she left, which showed she was negative for coronavirus.
She then spent five nights in the four-star resort of Hotel Playosol Bossa Flow near Ibiza’s capital, Ibiza Town having fun.
She said: “It was a great break — until I tested positive.”
A day before she was due to fly home she visited a nearby clinic for the required lateral flow test, which cost €35.
She tested positive before she paid €100 for a separate PCR test from the same clinic to confirm it.
She said: “The clinic just told me to go back to my hotel and they would let me know the results of the PCR
but by the next day I still hadn’t heard and by this stage had missed my plane.
“I’ve still never got my PCR results back.
“Hotel staff told me to stay in my room and the Spanish Government would be in touch.
“The next day I got a call telling me to pack my stuff. An ambulance picked me up to take me to La Noria.
“I’ve been there since Thursday but it’s been so confusing.
“Communication has been non-existent, I have no idea what’s going on or how long I’ve to stay.
“Some people say you are released after ten days and others say it’s when you test negative.
“No-one knows and hotel staff won’t say.
“On Friday night I was tested and I asked ‘what happens next?’ I was just told to sit tight and they’ll call me.”
Kimberly has joined a Whatsapp group with other exasperated tourists who are all as equally confused by when they can leave.
Many are also not happy about conditions in the hotel, which has been dubbed Ibiza Concentration Camp.
Some have been privately booking doctors for tests in the hope a negative result will allow them to leave.
Kimberly said: “I’m still unsure whether I’ve got Covid in the first place.
“I’ve never heard about the PCR results. I’ve got a mild cough but feel fine.
“The hotel is basic and we have to stay in our rooms. But the food is appalling.
“It’s been like hell for me and I’m desperate to get home.”
The Spanish Government has reportedly spent £265,000 to rent out all the rooms at the La Noria hotel to quarantine Covid guests for the summer season.
Yesterday, tourists in Ibiza were queuing outside clinics for Covid tests that would allow them to fly home after last-minute rule changes.
From tomorrow the popular Spanish islands rejoins the list of amber countries for travel restrictions.
Unless tourists are doubly vacintated, they will be required to self-isolate at home for 10 days after returning.
The decision was made after the Balearics saw a steep rise in cases, the Scottish Government confirmed.
In France British tourists were scrambling to get home before tight new restrictions were brought in.
Ministers say the rise of the Beta — formerly known as the South African strain — was on the rise in the country meaning even people fully vaccinated would be required to self-isolate for ten days on return from Monday.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “From the outset we have said caution is required regarding international travel and people should think very carefully about travelling abroad as situations can suddenly change.
“When we added the Balearic Islands to the green list we said we would be closely monitoring the data, and the increase in cases we have seen means it will be removed from the green list and made amber.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “Any British nationals who test positive abroad should follow the directions of local authorities.
“If they require consular assistance they should contact the closest British Embassy or Consulate.
“Consular Assistance and advice is available 24 hours a day.”
