Muskan Kapdi, 19, a first-year MBBS student at a medical college about two hours away from Wuhan, the central Chinese city at the epicentre of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, was visibly elated on Monday afternoon as she was handed over the document that certified her free of the virus and allowed her to go home after the mandatory 14-day quarantine period since her return from China.
Kapdi was among the first batch of about 70 Wuhan evacuees at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s (ITBP) Chhawla camp to receive the coveted government document on Monday, certifying them to be COVID-2019 free after having served the quarantine period.
All 406 evacuees are likely to be discharged by Tuesday evening, said an official spokesperson for ITBP.
“It’s such a relief to get this certificate as it will allow me to travel across the country. My family has been worried and I also desperately wanted to meet them. The past one month has been torrid and I am glad that it’s finally over,” said Kapdi.
Kapdi’s medical college, China Three Gorges University, is located in Yichang City, Hubei province, and from there she drove for about two hours to reach Wuhan , where the evacuation was planned on February 1 and 2.
“It was a grave risk that I took to travel to the epicentre of the outbreak. I was nervous about travelling to Wuhan. In fact, about 10-12 of my college mates decided to stay back because they thought it wasn’t safe to travel to Wuhan. They are regretting it , but I am glad I took the risk,” she said while getting into a car with her maternal uncle, Ajit Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}“It was a grave risk that I took to travel to the epicentre of the outbreak. I was nervous about travelling to Wuhan. In fact, about 10-12 of my college mates decided to stay back because they thought it wasn’t safe to travel to Wuhan. They are regretting it , but I am glad I took the risk,” she said while getting into a car with her maternal uncle, Ajit Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}Almost all the evacuees shudder reminiscing the lockdown in China.
Rajeswari Thakur, 20, a second-year MBBS student at Hubei Polytechnic University and a resident of Jalgaon, Maharashtra, has been in the quarantine facility with her friend Aditi Patil since February 1.
“From attending New Year parties to being confined to our college campus due to the total lockdown, our life had come to a sudden halt. We couldn’t go out of the campus. Even on the campus our movement was severely restricted. We had to wear a mask and a pair of gloves at all times and were undergoing mandatory health checks for fever, blood pressure and respiratory distress twice daily. Though our university authorities was helpful, it was a hair-raising experience,” said Thakur.
Out of the 12 Indian students at Hubei Polytechnic University, six were on campus during the winter vacation. Back home, their parents pulled out all stops to evacuate them, but only the government’s intervention helped them reach safely.
“Indian embassy came to our rescue when we approached the mission officials through a mobile-based application. They called and informed us about the evacuation plan,” said Thakur.
Dr Shweta Shukla Dwivedi , 34, was stuck with her two-and-half-year-old son about 80km away from Wuhan, where her husband teaches medicine. “My husband has been teaching for about one-and-a-half years and I had joined him about six months ago. Everything was going swimmingly well until the outbreak. Initially, we thought that the crisis would blow over, but, when it didn’t, we got scared as essential items were in severe short supply due to the lockdown. I had a fright of my life, thinking about the wellness of my baby. Fortunately, we got in touch with the Indian embassy and were evacuated just in time,” said Dr Dwivedi, a resident of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
Though many of the evacuees had apprehensions about the quarantine facility in India, they are glad to be proven wrong. “We were thinking what Chhawla camp would be like; how the authorities would treat us. But, in hindsight, I am overwhelmed by all the love and care they showered upon us. They pampered us like their own children,” said Thakur.
The ITBP facility has a recreation room with access to several indoor games such as table tennis, carrom, ludo and chess. It also has an active Wi-Fi connection and all the evacuees were allowed to keep their mobile phones with them. They also got to read the newspapers daily.
While the Chhawla camp staff went out of their way to make the evacuees feel comfortable, they also faced their share of fear and hardships.
“We were on tenterhooks till the first batch of samples reported negative. It’s a new virus and not much is known about its behaviour. Besides, we had to wear personal protective equipment for 8-10 hours and were deprived of our daily necessities. Thankfully, the hardship has borne fruit as all the evacuees are dong fine,” said a member of the ITBP staff at the facility.
The evacuees, many of whom live in Delhi or adjoining areas such as Haryana, were taken home from the facility by their families. “Even though I was in regular touch with her when she was there [China], I was jittery till she landed in Delhi. Now, that I have met her in person, I can’t thank the government enough for their efforts,” said Kumar.
Altogether, 645 people were evacuated from Wuhan on February 1 and 2 by two Air India special flights. The Union health ministry has also confirmed that none of the evacuees tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, health minister Harshvardhan confirmed that the government is planning one more evacuation later this week to bring back home the remaining stranded Indian nationals.