Full circle: India’s first COVID-19 patient wants to return to Wuhan

The
first Indian woman to test positive for the novel coronavirus two years ago now
wants to return to Wuhan, according to her father. The woman, originally from
Thrissur, Kerala, had been studying at a medical college in Wuhan, the city
that later became the epicentre of the pandemic. The woman went on to become the first infected patient from India.

After
two years of the virus’ ordeal, the woman now plans to head back to Wuhan to
resume her medical studies. According to The Times of India, her father stated,
“we believe Covid is manageable now. What is uncertain is my daughter’s career.”

Two
years ago, the woman returned to India, after barely making it through stringent
Chinese measures and border seals. She tested positive a week after arriving home.

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Since
the pandemic, the medical student had been continuing her MBBS course remotely.
The woman has completed her degree and passed all exams.

Lately, the MBBS student has been at a crossroads to head back to Wuhan due to
the Chinese requirement of MBBS students to obtain a 52-week in-person internship
at hospitals. A student will not be eligible for a degree without having
interned at a hospital in the final year of the course. 

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Her
father further added, “She needs to go to China. We request the central
government to take up the matter with the Chinese authorities for the sake of
hundreds of Indian medical students studying in China.”

“The pandemic has affected
everyone. My daughter is no different. She has moved on in life like many others
who contracted the disease. My daughter was infected twice. We were infected once,
with my wife and mother developing pneumonia in July 2020”, he concluded.

According to The Times
of India, the woman had mild symptoms like rhinitis and sore throat after
contracting the disease two years ago.