[ad_1]
Wuhan coronavirus: There is persistent fear about asymptomatic cases (Archive)
Wuhan:
A few daring Indians, who remained in Wuhan, where the new coronavirus first emerged and later turned into a global pandemic, have advice for their compatriots at home: follow strict closure and self-isolation measures to stop the spread of the fatal disease. .
Speaking to PTI, Indian citizens in Wuhan said they were very pleased that their 76-day suffering due to the strict confinement came to an end on Wednesday when authorities lifted restrictions on the city of 11 million people in central China.
“For more than 73 days, I stayed in my room, went to my nearby laboratory with permission. Today I struggle to speak correctly because I have not spoken much in all these weeks since there is no one to speak because everyone stayed inside,” he said. Arunjith T Sathrajith, a hydrobiologist working in Wuhan.
India evacuated some 700 Indians and foreigners through two special Air India flights, but Arunjith, who is from Kerala, decided to stay in Wuhan and challenge everything because he felt that “escaping” from a troubled place was not ideal for “Indians ” do”.
He is one of the few Indians who chose to stay in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people and the epicenter of the pandemic.
He also thought that his return to Kerala could endanger his parents and in-laws, for more than 50 years, in addition to his wife and son.
A microbiologist-turned-hydrobiologist participating in a research project in the central city of China said India had done the right thing for a national shutdown, but that the main problem for the country could arise when the monsoon season arises when levels of people’s immunity drop.
That is the time when the virus could become virulent, Arunjith said.
If there is any lesson Wuhan offers, it is strict blocking and people’s participation in the self-isolation campaign, he said.
Another Indian scientist who also stayed in Wuhan fully agreed with Arunjith.
“For about 72 days I have locked myself in my room. My neighbor has three very young children. I have not seen them leave his apartment even once.
“Today I am happy and relieved to have survived, but I am still not willing to venture because I might run into virus carriers,” the scientist, who preferred to remain anonymous, told PTI.
He advises the Indians to strictly follow the closure. The scientist said that a blockade of Wuhan a few days earlier could have helped prevent the virus from spreading like a forest fire.
He preferred to remain in Wuhan and rejected the offer from the Indian embassy because he was concerned about his family at home.
“Considering the hospitality I enjoyed, I was confident that my employer and my local friends would take care of me, and they did,” he said.
Arunjith said that he and his fellow researchers began to hear about the spread of a vicious virus in Wuhan beginning in the second week of December and that things began to deteriorate progressively with fear spreading among people as they began to wear masks.
But even after the Wuhan closure uprising, not many people are still dating as there is persistent fear about asymptomatic cases.
Asymptomatic coronavirus cases are those that test positive but do not show any symptoms and have the potential to cause sporadic groups of infections.
Both agreed that it is very difficult to detect the virus and its virulence in December and early January until many people began to contract it.
“It is not easy to understand this virus. And it will not be easy to understand until they trace case zero, which is extremely difficult. The Chinese took the time to act because they had no idea of this early and when they found out they acted with quickly, “said the scientist.
