They expected to fly back to Germany early next month.

But thanks to a new, fast spreading strain of the coronavirus, they are now unsure when they'll be able to return home.

I didn't think that a traffic will be affected in the way it is being affected right at the moment.

Um, that is shocking and I don't quite know which way things were going to go and we're here to spend Christmas with our family.

Andi, I don't know.

We'll see what will happen.

A growing number of countries, including Germany, have barred travelers from South Africa while they assess how much danger the new variant poses.

It's different from one identified in Britain, though both carry mutations that make the more transmissible than previously circulating dominant strains.

Marina says being apart from her 76 year old mother has been the hardest part of it all.

She's been very lonely because she's on her own and a huge portion off the year she was alone in her in her apartment.

But we're all following the rules and keeping our distance with a very difficult to see your mom after a year and you can target.

South Africa's tourism department said it had no information on the number of flights canceled or rescheduled due to the bands, but said it was working with the Foreign Ministry and embassies to facilitate contact between foreign citizens in South Africa on their governments.