Author Neil Gaiman issues apology for travelling to hometown amid Coronavirus lockdown

The Norse Mythology author Neil Gaiman recently broke lockdown rules by travelling from New Zealand to the UK. The novelist later issued an apology for breaking the rules and travelling to his home in Skye, Scotland amid the Coronavirus pandemic. His apology came in a week later on May 19 after he was criticised by the press and the public for travelling 11,000 miles from New Zealand to the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides.

Neil Gaiman issues apology for breaking lockdown rules

Neil Gaiman issued the apology on his blog and stated that he was visited by a few local officers who told him that he should have stayed where he was safe in New Zealand. Answering a lot of questions that were raised by people, the novelist revealed that he travelled to the UK because he panicked and was more than overwhelmed and stuck in New Zealand. He added, "I waited until New Zealand was done with its strict lockdown, and took the first flight out. (And yes, the flights and airports were socially distanced, and, for the most part, deserted).'' 

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Further answering if he would leave New Zealand knowing the things that he knows now, the author said that when the local police came up, they just wanted to make sure he was okay and that he was isolating. He added that they wanted to make sure that he would keep isolating there until the lockdown ends. Neil Gaiman said the locals who have reached out to him have been astonishingly kind. 

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He revealed that since he reached Skye, it had its own tragic COVID-19 outbreak and that there have been 10 deaths in the local care home. Neil Gaiman said that the Scottish island is not equipped to handle things like that and all the local resources are needed to take care of the people. He further admitted that he made a mistake by doing what he did. Gaiman advised the people not to travel to the Highlands and Islands unless it is really necessary. 

Apologising to the locals and everyone else, he wrote, "I want to apologize to everyone on the island for creating such a fuss. I also want to thank and apologise to the local police, who had better things to do than check up on me. I'm sure I've done sillier things in my life, but this is the most foolish thing I've done in quite a while".

Prior to this post, Gaiman made headlines due to his earlier blog post which said that his relationship with partner Amanda Palmer had hit a rough patch. He revealed that they mutually decided that they needed space. Neil added that then he flew masked and gloved to London before driving to his home in Scotland. 

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