Voices From Isolation

5 Indians self-quarantined in Italy and France — bearing the brunt of Coronavirus — tell MAIL TODAY how life has changed since the outbreak

- Sugam Singhal

WAITING TO BE EVACUATED!

OJAS SAGROLI, 24, a student in Italy’s Milan metropolis, is fighting a major dilemma. Studying Car Design in the country since last October, Sagroli is not sure whether to return home and miss out on his studies or stay put and wait for the pandemic to die out.

Returning home would mean risking greater exposure to the virus and, in all probability, missing out on online lectures for his master’s course. Deciding to stay would mean an indefinite quarantine amidst a nationwide lockdown in a country where the casualty rate is growing at an astounding pace, among the highest in the world.

Life has taken a 360-degree turn for students such as Sagroli, mostly for the worse. Long before university administrations in other countries began announcing complete lockdowns, Sagroli’s university in Milan decided to conduct online classes, triggering widespread panic and confusion.

Sagroli thinks the situation had been anticipated by the university since it had begun to schedule online classes in the beginning of March itself, with regular advisories to stay away from crowded city centres or large gatherings. In a state of panic, Sagroli has decided to quarantine himself. “The only times I leave the house is to buy groceries and items of basic necessity. In the first week of March, stores were operating normally. They were running out of a few things but mostly they had all the basic necessities that one would need. In the following week, the situation worsened significantly. People started lining up outside stores as panic started spreading,” he says.

Later, the government ramped up efforts and issued notices to all the stores and shops in and around Milan. Only a limited number of people are allowed to enter the stores. In smaller general stores, usually only one customer is allowed to be inside the shop at a time.