A British father is spending his first memorable moment of fatherhood on Zoom – after his girlfriend gave birth 1,750 miles away in Moldova amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Mark Templeton, 47, is unable to hold his son Luke for the first time due to lockdown restrictions – and has to settle for virtual meetings via the internet video service to see his baby, who was born on April 14.
His fiancée Valerie, 34, lives in the former Soviet republic of Moldova and went into labour when he was due to visit her for the birth of their child.
The couple were due to get married in March – but that had to be postponed due to the country’s strict lockdown.
Mr Templeton, a housing organisation PR from Northfleet, Kent, said: ‘My baby is stuck in Moldova and I really cannot wait to hold him for the very fist time.
Mark Templeton with girlfriend Valerie, who lives in the former Soviet republic of Moldova and went into labour when he was due to visit her for the birth of their child
‘I couldn’t get in any way at all. We’ve had to do everything by video call!’ said Mr Templeton, pictured seeing his newborn baby on video call
‘Valerie lives over there. I met her when she was over here because she lived over here for two years and she moved back out there when here visa expired, but nine months ago we didn’t even think we would be in a situation like this.
‘I had a flight lined up and then all of a sudden the Moldovan government announced they were banning all international flights.
‘I just couldn’t get a flight in. That was in mid-March.
‘I had a look at various options, whether I could get there on the train, whether I could get there by road even, which would have been a three or four day journey but I was quite willing to do that- but they shut all their borders.
‘I couldn’t get in any way at all. We’ve had to do everything by video call!’
The father revealed that the child was delivered by his girlfriend on her own – and she could not even take her mother in to the hospital because of the lockdown.
‘It was all fine, she was home within 24 hours and tested negative for coronavirus when she was at hospital.
‘The baby hasn’t got it either so we are grateful for that.
‘It’s absolutely horrible – thank god for video technology these days!’ he said.
Mr Templeton, a housing organisation PR from Northfleet, Kent, said: ‘My baby is stuck in Moldova and I really cannot wait to hold him for the very fist time’
The father revealed that the child was delivered by his girlfriend on her own – and she could not even take her mother in to the hospital because of the lockdown (pictured: Valerie and Luke)
Mr Templeton said he misses holding the child – and being able to touch and see him properly – but he video calls his family up to seven times a day to talk.
The father revealed he cannot get a flight there until at least the middle of May because Moldova has gone into a state of emergency, closing everything down after only a few cases.
‘The fact I can’t see him is awful for me but that’s just a very personal thing,’ he said.
‘It’s awful for both me and my girlfriend, because we were due to get married as well in March but that had to be cancelled as well.
‘When I couldn’t get the flight out that was it!
‘We did all the stuff you had to do over here which was register it in a registry office and all that, we got all the paperwork ready, and she got it translated and then it was just a no go because I couldn’t make it out there.
‘It was just going to be a small wedding with immediate family.
‘It’s not like we’ve gone to great expense or anything it was just a case of paying for the public hall I think they’re called over there.
‘We’ll do it as soon as possible I think. We’ll definitely do it this year.
‘We wanted to get it all tidied up before the little one came along but it’s one of those things. It can’t happen.
‘But there’s far worse- all those people that lost their lives you just feel so sorry for them. I just feel like my story is quite small in comparison.
‘It’s my second child we’ve both got previous children, they’re both seven years old, they get on like a house on fire the two brothers!
‘They chat on video call as well.
‘My girlfriend was working over there but she has been on maternity leave, she’s a translator for an American company.’