Point Pleasant Beach Grad Can't Get Home Due To Coronavirus Surge

POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Kathy Given just wants her daughter, Kirby, to come home.

Kirby's college rugby team can't get back home from Peru because of the coronavirus outbreak. And her mom, Kathy, needs help from somebody.

The borders have been virtually closed, Kathy said, and flights have been canceled,

Sen. Bob Menendez contacted her about it, but Kathy told Patch that she was informed "they're getting little to no help from the State Department."

Indeed, there are hundreds – if not thousands – who have found themselves unable to return to America since the outbreak. Additional steps could be taken to make it even more difficult, and the Trump administration is even closing Canada's border with the United States.

Cases also continue to surge in the United States, including New Jersey. The number of cases in the Garden State nearly doubled on Thursday. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

One case was also reported in Point Pleasant Boro. Read more: First Point Pleasant Boro Resident Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Kirby, a 2013 graduate of Point Pleasant Beach High School, is a graduate assistant earning her masters degree at Salisbury University. She also excels at various sports, including rugby and volleyball.

They lived in Point Pleasant Beach for a long time until another heartbreaking circumstance confronted them. They were forced to move after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Now they live in Toms River, and Kirby was among a group of rugby players who traveled before the outbreak surged.

Kathy is asking for help from anybody – including reporters – to "please contact senators..specifically Menendez..there are several hundred students there in Lima and other parts of Peru."

You can find the senator's contact information here: https://www.menendez.senate.gov/contact