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Dami Im's Coronavirus Travel Ban Heartbreak: 'We Don’t Know When We’re Going To See Dad'

The Dancing With The Stars contestant and her mum can no longer travel to South Korea to reunite with her father.

As strict travel bans have been enforced across Australia amid the coronavirus crisis, musician Dami Im has said the tough restrictions have impacted her family.

“The biggest thing is my dad is in Korea and my mum is in Australia at the moment, and she was going to go back and reunite with dad but now it’s a lockdown. So, we don’t know when we’re going to see dad,” the singer told HuffPost Australia on Monday.

Dami’s mother, who usually lives in South Korea, has been in Australia for the past few months to spend time with her famous daughter and support her on Dancing With The Stars. She was scheduled to fly out “in a couple of weeks” but with flights cancelled, that’s no longer an option.

Dami Im with her parents
Instagram/Dami Im
Dami Im with her parents

“I had plans to [also] go back to Korea once DWTS was so over, so I was going to go in May,” Dami explained. “It looks like it’s not going to happen at this point.”

The former X Factor winner said she and her mum still speak to her dad on the phone every day, so they “know he’s fine, but it’s just a really strange situation”.

Last Thursday Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country would will implement a travel ban on all non-residents and non-Australian citizens coming into the country.

Travel bans for China, Iran, South Korea and Italy, which have recently reported the highest numbers of people with the illness, had also been extended. Australians arriving from those countries are allowed to enter but will be told to self-isolate for 14 days.

Dami said her parents, who are in their late fifties, have been following health advice to try avoid contracting COVID-19.

“They’re quite good in that they’re keeping to the rules and social distancing,” explained the singer. “So I’m not worried about that, it’s just being apart.”

Dami was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars on Sunday night, after a few eventful weeks on the Channel Ten show.

Fellow contestant Christian Wilkins had to distance himself from the rest of the cast once his dad, Channel Nine entertainment reporter, Richard Wilkins, contracted coronavirus. After taking a test, Christian tested negative and has since continued to be part of the reality show.

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