Desperate international students line up for free lunch in Sydney amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Hundreds of desperate international students have had to queue for hours to pick up a free lunch after they lost their income due to the coronavirus.

Outside Yummy Thai restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown this week was a line that stretched about 600 metres down the street.

The patient students waited to be given a package filled with food which was generously donated by the restaurant owners. 

Meals include Thai chicken noodles, red pork rice and an omelette with chili paste. 

Many of the international students have been struggling since the pandemic escalated in March as businesses were closed and most of them relied casual income to pay rent and other bills.

One international student, Youtuber Thai Talk with Paddy spoke to said he had been able to a bit of Uber driving to help pay the bills but it was only enough for the necessities. 

Adrian, an international student at Melbourne’s Deakin University, has been forced to start a fundraising page to help cover his bills. 

The business students has been stranded in Australia since India closed its borders. 

Outside Yummy Thai restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown this week was a line that stretched about 600 metres down the street

He told news.com hopes the federal government will reconsider and extend eligibility for the JobKeeper wage subsidy to international students. 

‘We are quite despondent,’ he said. ‘There’s no money coming in and we’re stuck. 

‘We need jobs here to pay for our living expenses and we are limited to 20 hours per week. People are working as Deliveroo or UberEats drivers or hospitality staff. These aren’t high-paying jobs, so when that income is gone we don’t have any buffer.’