SA student in Wuhan watches friend fall ill as desperate wait for repatriation continues

The empty streets of Wuhan Photo: Supplied

By Estelle Ellis

9 Mar 2020

As another day passes without a firm date being given to repatriate South Africans from the epicentre of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, a student who has been in lockdown at Wuhan University watched yet another sick classmate being taken to hospital – as his desperation to get home increases by the day. None of the South African students have been tested for the virus. Since they first went into forced isolation he has kept a careful journal of what has happened to them. He has shared excerpts with Daily Maverick.

“Things seem to be getting better one minute and then they (went) back to being worse the next,” the student said on Monday. “I found out recently that there are infected students who were being sheltered in our building because the hospitals are too full. All the makeshift hospitals are also full. So they were never removed from the building. At 9pm on Saturday they picked up another student. At that point, we thought we were safe, but we were so wrong.

“We have not been tested for the virus,” he said.

Students in quarantine are allowed to leave their rooms to collect food. Photo: Supplied

“At this stage, we agree that we should request compensation for emotional and psychological trauma. It looks like we are being used as collateral to maintain the relations between China and South Africa.

“Because of the suppression of information, most of us did not know what to believe and some did not think that it was that serious. Some of the students have been aware of Covid-19 [the disease caused by the coronavirus], since early January, but the information did not reach the Free State provincial government in time. It was not their fault. None of us knew how serious this was. It was only in mid-January when they started telling us to wear masks and that the disease was spreading rapidly.

Food supplied to students. Photo: Supplied

“On 23 January we went into lockdown. All cars, trains, planes and all modes of transport were, and still are, prohibited (unless authorised). That meant the only way to leave Wuhan was through authorised and chartered transport and planes.

“Since the last week of January, there was a division between students and leaders. This led to a miscommunication between the government and students because 50% of students were for repatriation and 50% were not. Many of these students were in South Africa, or not in Hubei province. They were allowed to represent the views of students and have a say about their health and repatriation.

A room in one of the dormitories have been converted to a makeshift shop. Photo: Supplied

“We currently remain in isolation. There are more than 10 hospitals in Wuhan city that have been reported to be overcrowded to the extent that two hospitals had to be built. It has come to our attention that certain universities are on the list of sheltering confirmed cases. Such exposure poses a risk to the students that are isolated.

“Food is very scarce in the province of Hubei. The prices of products have sky-rocketed. It is very hard to find food and other products, since companies have stopped operating. We get food for free and we are very grateful. But it is the same meal over and over. This has led to us getting sick, with nausea, ulcers, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. When this matter was raised to the school, students were told to be grateful for what they are receiving because some people do not even have food to eat. They won’t let us go to the bank to load money on WeChat.

Students are only allowed out for a short while to go to the shop. Photo: Supplied

“We hear from the World Health Organisation that masks and other medical protective gear and supplies are becoming very scarce because masks need to be changed every three to four hours as recommended by medical practitioners. There are business people who have bought them in bulk and are selling them for 10 times their original price. They are simply cutting off supply and increasing demand.

“As a result of all of this, some students were not given masks and they could not purchase the masks because they were, and still are, under lockdown The most crippling part of all of this mess is not knowing whether you have it or not.”

South African students currently in quarantine in Wuhan collect their food. Photo: Supplied

He said the students wrote their first request to be repatriated to the government on January 31.

In the letter, the students stated:

“This is our plea to the South African Government… to evacuate us from this place. Let it be noted that we do not mind being isolated once we reach South Africa. A place shall be provided for us, we will be tested individually and those infected shall be separated from those who are not. We have a much better chance of survival in South Africa than we do here, because most of us are stressed, we are anxious about our futures. As a result of the emotional turmoil that we are going through, most of us have gone into depressed states which leaves us vulnerable to the disease.”

The empty streets of Wuhan Photo: Supplied

The South African group was sent an update from the embassy stating that due to travel restrictions, no vehicles were allowed to enter or leave Hubei — meaning that a chartered plane was the only option.

Daily Maverick’s correspondent said a student whose temperature was too high was refused food. He said the student’s temperature was taken three times and it was only when the third test showed a normal temperature that he was given food. He was then told to monitor his health and call an ambulance if he became sicker.

“On 7 February a student from Gabon was taken to hospital. He was taken away by an ambulance and they disinfected their room and the path they took when collecting him. The next day another student from Gabon was found running naked in the school grounds. She was screaming. This is due to the amount of trauma and emotional distress of the whole situation. You must keep in mind that it is winter right now in China and at the time of the incident the temperature was fluctuating between -3 and 5ºC. She was clearly not of sane mind any longer. After this we were locked up in our own buildings,” the student said.

At a joint government press conference in South Africa on Monday it was confirmed that plans to repatriate South Africans from Wuhan were still on track, but no details could yet be provided. MC

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