IRELAND — A Central Florida woman getting ready to head home from her European honeymoon, is now stuck in Ireland after testing positive for the coronavirus. 


What You Need To Know

  •  Karilyn Barney is stuck in Ireland after testing positive for COVID-19

  •  At the end of her honeymoon, she was preparing to head home to Florida with her husband

  • Now she has been quarantined for 10-days in an Irish hotel room

  • She has been passing the time on TikTok critiquing her quarantine meals

It’s day five of a 10-day quarantine in a hotel room for Karilyn Barney.  

“I have two beds — one's a single, one's a double — and a desk," Barney said. "That’s it."

She and her husband were on the tail end of a fabulous honeymoon that included several days in Rome and Ireland, when her travels took a wrong turn.

Now, she’s stuck in a hotel in Ireland after testing positive for COVID-19.

“I had a little bit of runny nose," Barney said. "I had a little bit of a cough."

She and her husband were getting ready to fly back to Central Florida, but to get back into the U.S. they needed a negative COVID-19 test. 

Her husband’s came back negative, with no virus detected. 

“Mine came up — bright red, detected,” said Barney. 

For her husband’s safety, he headed home while Barney headed to a quarantine hotel.   

“The hardest part is being without my partner," she said. "Hands down, I miss him more than anything."

Barney is vaccinated and thankfully her symptoms are minor.   

“I think 110% that is why I’m not in the hospital, on a ventilator, sick as a dog,” she said.

Barney said the Irish have been extremely helpful, and is thankful for their hospitality, but said they did have fairly strict COVID-19 protocols. 

“Everybody who’s COVID positive is on the same floors in the same part of the hotel,” she said. 

Stuck in a hotel room for 10 days, Barney is reaching out through TikTok to pass the time.   

“Probably every day that I’m here, I’m going to go live at 8 p.m. my time,” she said in one video. 

Now, thousands of people are watching as Barney explores the fine cuisine of quarantine life

In one TikTok video she opens her door to see what meal was left for her. 

“If that’s chicken nuggets, I will loose my mind,” said Barney.

She’s even had to get creative to make a grilled cheese. She wrapped a cheese sandwich in foil and pressed it with her hotel iron. 

“You see that steam?” said Barney.

Barney thinks she caught the virus in Italy after dining in crowded restaurants. 

“I got caught up in the moment, but we should have taken things to go and ate in our own private space,” she said.

Barney recommended that everyone get vaccinated and take precautions, but said she doesn’t want to discourage couples from taking a honeymoon. 

“If you go abroad, be smart about it," she said. "Wash your hands, make sure that you’re wearing your mask."

Barney is hoping to fly back to Central Florida on Wednesday.