PanamaTimes

Tuesday, Jul 01, 2025

Wheelchair bound, lacking insulin, Lithonia family struggles in quarantine in Panama with COVID

Wheelchair bound, lacking insulin, Lithonia family struggles in quarantine in Panama with COVID

The two women tested positive before boarding their flight and are now forced to quarantine in a hotel.

Two family members from Lithonia say they are stranded in Central America after testing positive for COVID-19 right before their flight home.

Daniella Bullock and Donna Davis-Nunes are now in quarantine in the Golden Tower Hotel in Panama City, Panama, per the country's coronavirus policies. Both said the quarters are not handicap accessible, which will make the next two weeks for Davis-Nunes even more complicated.

Panamanian coronavirus policies say unvaccinated passengers on inbound, outbound, or transit flights who test positive for COVID-19 at the airport may be required to quarantine at a MINSA-designated hotel or hospital for 14 days. The U.S. Embassy cannot insist that passengers be retested or discharged from quarantine prior to the end of the required quarantine period, according to the government's website.

However, posted policies do not address quarantine accommodations.

"My aunt is 100% disabled," Bullock said. "Her home was specifically to meet her needs in terms of having access to a shower, a decent-sized toiler, her walker, things like that. And they told us that the facility that we would quarantine in had doctors and they would be able to support us."


Bullock said the support has yet to be seen.

"When we arrived there, we had to ask for water. We had to ask for a towel to take a bath. We had to ask for additional bedsheets," she said after her first day in quarantine.

Apart from lacking some necessities, the women said the largest inconvenience is that the room isn't fit for someone who utilizes a wheelchair.

Davis-Nunez struggles to navigate in her wheelchair. The women noted a step to get into the shower and no railing for balance. Davis-Nunes is even using her wheelchair as a makeshift walker to get around.

"I feel this loss, torn, distressed, disgruntled, unhappy, and I don't think they listen to us, they don't pay attention to us," she said. "Obviously, I'm in a wheelchair and not for joy. It's a need."

The women have only been given a few days' worths of food and water to survive a two-week period, which is adding to quarantine frustration, they said. They're concerned about running out of supplies before they can get home.

On top of navigating coronavirus care in another country, Bullock is a Type 1 diabetic and said she is rationing her insulin pen and reusing needles to get her 4 shots a day for the next two weeks.

However, they're glad that they have each other and have sticky notes on the wall to count down to the days when they can finally come home to DeKalb County.

The two will be allowed to leave Jan. 10.

11Alive reached out to the Ministry of Health in Panama, the closest Panamanian consulate in Tampa and the U.S. Embassy in Panama. However, no one has been able to respond to phone calls or emails.


Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Former FBI Director James Comey Questioned by Secret Service Over Social Media Post
Mexican Influencer Valeria Márquez Killed During Livestream in Suspected Femicide
×