This article is from WeChat public account: 志 象 网 (ID: passagegroup) , author: Fu Rao, the original title: “students in Wuhan: Some people stranded, some people fled, not a day with eight mask”, the title figure comes from: vision China
At 10 pm on January 31, a special plane carrying Indian students set off from Tianhe Airport and flew to New Delhi.
The day before yesterday, India announced that the country was diagnosed with the first case of new crown pneumonia. The patient was an Indian female student from the University of Wuhan Medical School. She became infected in Wuhan and developed symptoms after returning to her hometown of Kerala. According to public reports, she was the first foreigner to be infected in Wuhan.
At 10 am on January 23, 2020, Wuhan will be closed. Among the tens of millions of people stranded in Wuhan, there are a number of foreign students. Most of them study medicine, and Indians account for nearly 90%. In India, the high cost of the medical profession makes it difficult for most families to afford. Studying in China and studying medicine in China have become a realistic choice for many Indian students. And Wuhan, a city with more than one million college students, has attracted Indian students.
With the citizens, they are experiencing a critical moment in Wuhan. Some people fled, and among the stranded, because of a report, a college in Wuhan issued eight masks to foreign students a day, and they unknowingly entered the storm of public opinion.
We interviewed 4 Indian medical students from Wuhan University and 1 Kenyan student.
Indian students stranded in Wuhan, picture source: The News Minute
Before the closure of the city, the high-speed rail left the city and was refused by the hotel due to Wuhan records
Tami-senior student of Wuhan Medical College:
The first time I heard about pneumonia virus was around the 17th. At that time, the cause of pneumonia was unknown. I heard that the place of transmission was the seafood market. I did not hear that the virus could be transmitted from person to person. It was only heard on January 20 that the new virus can be passed from person to person.
This is my fourth year in Wuhan. I used to go home during the summer vacation and stay in Wuhan during the winter vacation. At about 3 am on January 22, I saw that the number of cases was increasing and Wuhan was the virus center. I felt very scared, especially because my physical resistance was relatively poor. I hurriedly booked a high-speed rail ticket for Wuhan to Guangzhou at 7.25 , Plans to fly back to India from Guangzhou on the morning of the 26th.
It may take 10 minutes from booking to packing, because I ca n’t get a car on Didi, I had to go out to find a taxi with my luggage. It was estimated that it was between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning. . I don’t remember how long it took to get to the bus. It was already 6 o’clock when we arrived at the station. In fact, it is only half an hour’s drive from the international student dormitory to Wuhan Station.
I remember very clearly that the taxi driver was not wearing a mask. At that time, he also wanted to wait for an additional passenger. I was worried that more people would increase the possibility of virus infection, so I gave the driver money to let him go.
There are many people at Wuhan Railway Station, and many of them may have bought tickets temporarily. Most passengers wear masks to avoid approaching others. When entering the station, a staff member used the instrument to detect the body temperature. The carriage I am in is full.
When you go to Guangzhou South Railway Station, you must also take a temperature test. All staff and people around the station are wearing masks.
It is uncomfortable that my passport has a Wuhan visa endorsement record, and the hotel I originally booked refused to accept me. I had to book another one temporarily with my mobile phone. Fortunately, the hotel in the back let me check in.
My masks are used up in Guangzhou. I bought them at a pharmacy, which is still available, but I can only buy them in bulk. Disposable protective masks are two pieces and two pieces, which are more expensive than usual.
I have n’t been out for 3 days in Guangzhou, and I also order Indian food through takeaway. On the evening of the 26th, I returned to my home in India. That night I read the information and said WuHan University has issued masks and flu prevention medicines to the students who stay in the dormitory. Our monitor has been communicating with everyone on WeChat, and the school’s material assistance has been very good.
I was fortunate to come out before closing the city. My own health is not good. If I stay in Wuhan with a high probability of infection, my parents are also worried about me. I have lived in Wuhan for almost 4 years. I like Wuhan very much. It is very sad to see the city now. I hope Wuhan can get through it.
I haven’t gone out for the past three days. Today I heard everyone shouting “Wuhan Come” in the corridor
Tanishk-Sixth-graduate student in clinical medicine at Wuhan University Medical College:
Clinical medical English teaching in Wuhan University is 5 years study + 1 year internship. This year is my 6th year in Wuhan. Last fall, I started my internship at Wuhan University People’s Hospital. For convenience, I rented an apartment with my classmates outside the school, and I can go to school by bicycle in about 10 minutes.
I was concerned about the new virus on December 28 last year. A classmate intern at Zhongnan Hospital told me during a chat. He saw news from the class group that some people in Wuhan had unknown pneumonia and suspected that SARS had relapsed. I know that SARS had a great impact in 2003. The first reaction was a bit of a shock. If SARS comes back, it will be a major event.
On January 1, the South China Seafood Market, which is said to be the source of the virus, closed down. On January 4th, I saw the news from the public account Wuhantime. 44 people were diagnosed with unidentified pneumonia and were receiving isolation treatment. It seems that the condition has been brought under control. But at that time, I did not know that the virus could be passed from person to person, and I did not expect that it would affect the expansion so much later.
Content posted by wuhantime
My internship department is the emergency room, where doctors and nurses wear masks every dayTherefore, in my opinion, there has been no special change in the hospital’s response. There have always been a lot of patients, so there is no special attention to patients who send out hot clinics.
I didn’t join the WeChat group inside the hospital doctors, I just had separate communication with doctors in several departments. Since a large number of viral infections had not yet been transmitted, I did not expect to talk to a doctor.
Originally, my internship period ended on January 17, but I felt a sore throat around the 14th, so I did n’t go to the hospital after the 15th. Starting from the 20th, I saw from the English news that the situation of the virus was getting worse. Limited people have confirmed that many people around them have put on N95 masks.
My parents and family also came to ask me about it at that time, and they were scared by the infection figures in the news. I told them that the patients found now are quarantined, the government is actively promoting isolation and treatment, experts have basically understood the transmission of the virus, and the WHO also believes that China can cope with the new coronavirus, so I think the epidemic situation can be obtained controlling.
In the early morning of the 23rd, Wuhan announced the news of a city closure. I did n’t sleep with my friends that night. I also saw in the group that everyone was discussing whether to leave the city quickly, how to book tickets, etc. There were about dozens of people that day Before leaving the city. Although I saw the news and had the opportunity to leave before the city was closed, I felt that the condition was still under government control, and there was no problem in protecting.
In the international student group of Wuhan University, students who leave the city overnight release news
In the last few days, I only went out one door and biked to Carrefour supermarket near my home on the 27th. On the way, I saw that the street was empty. There were few people and the small shop didn’t open. The supermarket is still open, and staff and customers are wearing masks and have temperature tests. I bought instant noodles, bread, oatmeal, oil and vat of water. There are not many kinds of vegetables you can buy. I bought carrots, potatoes, green peppers, and small rapeseed. The fruits were bananas and oranges. I went home at night to make fried rice. These things are enough for more than a week.
Tanishk vegetables bought at Carrefour
I was going to return to the internship hospital on February 3. Now that the start time has been postponed, I do n’t know when I will go back, waiting for follow-up notice.
Last night around 7:30 to 8:00, I heard a lot of people shouting “Wuhan Come” through the window. The Indian embassy set up a WeChat group of 500 Indian students in Hubei. I saw that the embassy was communicating to take us back to India.
I have video calls with my family twice a day these days to tell them what I know. I have enough food in my house and chat with my roommates to cook without going out. I have lived in Wuhan for more than five years and am already familiar with it. There is not much that can be done at present, and I plan to wait for developments. Cases have grown very fast in the last two days, which makes me a bit worried. If the embassy can communicate with the local government to pick us up, I think it would be better to return to India.
On the morning of the 30th, I saw the embassy group telling us to clean up. I got on the bus around 5:30 this afternoon.
Tanishk’s bus
It was business as usual in Wuhan, only to find a lot of people wearing masks in Chengdu
Neeraj-a fifth-year student at Wuhan University Medical College:
The first time I heard about the virus was in early January. News reports said that the infection broke out from the seafood market. At that time, I didn’t think the incident was serious.
My original plan was to go home after the test, so I booked a ticket for No. 12 to fly from Wuhan to Chengdu, and then fly to Chengdu on the 14th. When I was in Wuhan, I didn’t feel much about the epidemic. No one wore a mask and everything was normal.
But when I was in Chengdu for two days, I obviously felt that the situation was serious. I saw the news that the medical staff was also infected and the virus was spreading. There were more people wearing masks around, and everyone started to be alert, but the situation in the airport and public places has not increased special measures.
I originally went to Zhongnan Hospital for an internship on February 16th, but on the 26th I received an email from the school to postpone the start of the school. It is not clear whether the internship time will change and I expect to receive a new notice. I already bought a ticket to return to Wuhan on February 14th. I expect to refund the ticket and change the itinerary.
Chinese and English emails postponed by Wuhan University
I was lucky to leave Wuhan before the outbreak. At present, my physical condition is normal, and my family is not so worried. I saw from the group that everyone has reduced their activities these days and stayed in the house. The school also provided a lot of help and hoped that the epidemic would be brought under control as soon as possible.
The Indian Embassy has finally notified the withdrawal of overseas Chinese
Rahul-senior student of Wuhan University Medical College:
I originally planned to stay in Wuhan this winter vacation. Currently, there are more than 40 people in the dormitory of the international students living in the school, almost all of them are Indian medical students.
Due to the holiday, many canteens and surrounding shops were closed, but after the outbreak, the school ordered meals for international students and distributed them in the dormitory office. I also received a box of masks (see picture) , plus Banlangen, which are free. I haven’t gone out yet, and the masks haven’t worked. If you run out, you can go to the office of the dormitory to pick up.
Pictures of lunch and masks provided by the school
During this time, the counselors of the International Student College communicate with us in the group every day, telling us the latest progress of the epidemic and the materials provided by the school. I didn’t go out last week. After the recent outbreak, the counselor told us not to go out as much as possible, and since the beginning of last week, I can go downstairs for three meals.
The counselor updates the information in the group every day. I know that there are currently no suspected infections among foreign students. The classmates and friends who live in the same building will chat with each other. My family came to ask me about the situation after they saw the news. They were a bit worried. I talked to them every day and told them that everything is fine now.
I saw last week that the United States and Japan had arranged embassies to help the diaspora evacuate Wuhan. The Indian embassy had no exact news until Thursday, but said it had been communicating. Yesterday, the embassy finally officially informed us to prepare for the evacuation. I got on the second evacuation bus at about 6 pm, and now I have arrived at the airport, waiting in line to take my temperature.
The virus is not so scary, but the rumors are scary
Aballah——A sophomore of Applied Linguistics from Wuhan University, from Kenya:
At the beginning of December, my class was over. Before most students had their winter vacation started, I went to Southeast Asia. When I was in Thailand, I saw news of the virus in English news, but I didn’t think the problem was serious. As originally planned, I am from Manchester on January 16Gu Fei arrived in Wuhan. When I arrived at the airport, I didn’t see much difference in the city. There was no body temperature check. It was obvious that everyone was not alert to the virus at that time. I remember some people wearing masks, but not many.
I took the subway and then transferred to the bus to return to school. There were not many people along the way, but it was also close to the Lunar New Year, and many people went home, so I didn’t feel any difference.
But the epidemic situation got worse within a few days after coming back. The school people told everyone not to go out. Beginning on the 22nd, someone took the body temperature at the entrance of the dormitory, and it was necessary to take a measurement when going out to get a courier. On the 23rd, I went out to buy things and found that the original convenience stores were closed. Starting last Friday (24th), the school will provide us with three meals, all of which are fast-food boxes ordered uniformly, and will be placed on the first floor of the dormitory at that time.
On January 28, people from the school came knocking on the door one by one. Then I saw the news that let us all stay in the room and try not to go out. The school also gave us a WeChat mini program for shopping, where you can buy daily necessities, masks are also available, and someone will be sent downstairs to the dormitory.
Photo: Screenshots of the box lunch and shopping applet distributed by the dormitory
Actually, my condition is pretty good, because I already went out in December, and it’s not troublesome for me to be out of town now. Just read the book and write thesis as originally planned.Listening to music. I didn’t tell my parents that they are now in a state of quarantine. I was afraid they were worried. The last time I contacted them was when I returned from a trip. They also read the news, but knew that I was staying in Wuhan.
Now the most scary thing is that I do n’t know the truth. Some people in the WeChat group said that Wuhan wants to spray disinfection sprays with airplanes. Everyone has to close the windows, which makes us very nervous. I do n’t know if we should open the window. ventilation. Others say that masks need to be worn in multiple layers, and that Wuhan is in short supply of materials. Many Chinese rumors will be translated into English and circulated on WeChat. At this time, rumors may be more scary than viruses.
Aballah and Tami are pseudonyms at the request of the interviewees
This article is from the WeChat public account: Zixiangwang (ID: passagegroup) author: Fu Rao