Stranded in Peru amid COVID lockdown, Holy Cross High grad heads home with help of Queens lawmakers
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Michael Hay, a College Point native and former standout football player at Holy Cross High School, was stranded in Peru for nearly a month during that country’s coronavirus lockdown. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
By David Brand
Former Holy Cross High School football star Michael Hay and his wife Alexandra were visiting Machu Pichu last month when the president of Peru announced that the country was going on lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The Hays, who grew up in Queens and now live in Nassau County, had left their 18-month-old son with Alexandra’s family in Lima in order to make a brief trip to the iconic landmark. They figured they could board a flight back to Lima, pick up their son and then return to the United States. They were wrong.
“When they lock down in Peru, they lock down,” said Hay, who went on to play football for Syracuse University and the St. Louis Rams practice squad after his time at Holy Cross. He now works in commercial real estate in Queens. “We drove by the airport and it was a madhouse.”
A few hours later, the government wrapped chains around the airport doors. The Hays decided to board a bus for a bumpy 26-hour trek through the Andes back to Lima.
And that’s where they stayed for about three weeks as Peru’s government clamped down on socializing and travel. Peru first imposed an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, which they gradually tightened before instituting an order that prevented men and women from traveling on the same day to reduce the number of people out and about.
The Hay Family — 18-month-old Lorenzo, Michael and Alexandra — during their extended stay in peru. photo courtesy of michael hay
Hay’s cousin, a Bayside firefighter, reached out to State Sen. John Liu for help getting his stranded family back to New York. Liu, in turn, connected with U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi for further assistance.
The two Queens lawmakers helped facilitate their return.
“We have, everyday, bad news and more bad news, and sometime once in a while we have some good news,” Liu said.
It turned out the Hays weren’t alone. At least 5,000 other Americans, including another family with Queens roots, were stranded in Peru and needed to get back to the U.S. too.
United chartered a large jet for about 300 Americans to Washington D.C. on April 3. Hay said he does not know how much that ride will cost him, but he figures it will be less than the private flights he found transporting international travelers out of Lima.
“It was $50,000 for a six-passenger plane,” Hay said. “I thought, ‘I could live pretty well in Peru for $50,000.’”
Despite the hassle and uncertainty, the Hay family said the experience showed them the true extent of the COVID-19 crisis — a reality their peers had not quite come to grips with back in the United States, Hay said.
“We flew into D.C., got off the plane and no one said anything to us. No one checked our temperature, no one told us to wash our hands,” Hay said.
He advises his fellow New Yorkers to follow the example of the Peruvians by staying home and stopping the spread of the virus.
“I grew up in Queens, I understand the beauty of Queens is that it’s nonstop. There’s a toughness of people and it’s a beautiful thing,” Hay said.
But, he added, stopping the spread of the virus means staying away from neighbors, “no matter how tough you are.”
