Celiac Woman in COVID-19 Quarantine Waits Nearly Two Days for Gluten-Free Food

Celiac.com 12/20/2021 - Janet and Maku Game of Edmonton, Canada arrived in Toronto early on Dec. 4. Because Maku had traveled to South Africa within the 14 day window set by Canadian authorities, the pair were ordered to quarantine until they received a negative COVID-19. They ended up stuck in a quarantine nightmare with no gluten-free food for Janet for nearly two days.

Concerns about the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, have led Canadian authorities to require that anyone who has traveled to South Africa within 14 days remain in quarantine until they receive a negative COVID-19 test, even those who are already vaccinated. According to recent reports, Maku has had three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and Janet has had two doses.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
Janet said she has severe celiac disease and her food must be 100% gluten-free or she will suffer great pain and diarrhea. Maku said they told the Hilton hotel about the dietary restriction when they first arrived. The pair had eaten before arriving at the hotel for quarantine, but they received no dinner that night, and no meal the next morning, Dec. 5th. Lunch, their first meal, was a dish of rice and vegetables, and a single portion of crispy chicken that was not gluten-free. 

They couple reported that Red Cross Canada is only one point of contact at the hotel, but that no one was on staff at reception. They wanted to get some proper food, as Janet was nursing a broken leg she injured in Africa, and drinking sugary drinks to keep her energy up. They tried calling Red Cross at least five times throughout Dec. 5 and said they were on hold for up to an hour before getting in touch with someone.

Around 9:40 p.m. that night, Janet received a banana and apple, followed by a gluten-free bagel the next morning a little before 9 a.m. on the 6th. By that time, she had gone 41 hours without a proper meal.

“I just want to go home,” Janet told reporters for Global News. “I’m extremely tired and extremely exhausted.” Under the quarantine rules, the Games were not allowed to leave their room or receive any food orders, such as from Uber Eats or from their relatives who live nearby.

“It’s so scary,” Janet said of the hotel atmosphere. “You can’t see anybody. They put wall-to-wall plastic...It’s like a science-fiction world here.”

After receiving a negative COVID-19 test result after pushing the lab to expedite their results, they were still waiting for public health to give them the go-ahead as of Monday at noon to be able to board a flight back to Edmonton, where they have lived for 20 years.

Being stuck in a situation where you cannot order or received food, and can only get what you're given by those in charge, and trying not to starve as they fumble in trying to get you something gluten-free is a true nightmare for most people with celiac disease.

Read more at GlobalNews.ca