A Newfoundland man is calling on the federal government to help his young family get out of Peru where they've been stranded since mid-March because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

"We are totally at the mercy of our [Canadian] government at this point.The airport is closed and all commercial flights are shut down," said Ryan Green, on the phone from Lima.

Green and his wife, Jacquelyn Holden — who is pregnant — their three-year-old daughter, Eleanor, and some other family members went to Peru in early March for some touring and a yoga retreat.

But their trip took a dramatic turn in mid-March when the federal government issued to travel advisory for Canadians to return home, said Green.

"Within 24 hours of Canada's announcement, the president of Peru declared a state of emergency and shut down all the airports. It all happened very quickly. March 16 is when they really started to lock things down. So we really started seeing the military on the streets and the police presence increased," he said.

There are currently more than 2,500 Canadians in Peru. Green and his family were lucky to make it to a hotel in the capital, Lima, from an area they were visiting in a northern part of the country.

He said it's particularly stressful for their three-year-old.

With all the uncertainty the coronavirus has caused worldwide, the family wants to return home to Canada but say they can't get out.

Repatriation flights full

The Canadian government is arranging flights with Air Canada to rescue people like Green, but so far none of his group has been able to secure a seat.

"We're going to hope that our MPs are going to fight for us. Newfoundland and Labrador MPs Seamus O'Regan and Jack Harris and Gudie Hutchings have been helpful. So we thank them, but we want to keep the pressure on," said Green.

The first Air Canada repatriation flight to Lima has returned without them. Green said he can't understand how a six-months-pregnant woman and a three-year-old child weren't a priority.

"We were quite disappointed to find out we didn't get prioritized for the first flight. We were fully expecting to get on the first flight considering our situation, but we didn't get an email from our consulate. We didn't get a chance to book tickets. That was disheartening," he said.

More repatriation flights are expected to leave Thursday and Friday, so Green said they are lobbying every contact they can think of to try to get on one of those planes.

"We're definitely appreciative of all the help that our MPs and others have done so far but obviously it hasn't been enough," said Green.

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