[ANTARA] Unforgettable experience: The first outbreak of coronavirus

By M. Irfan Ilmie

On January 23, 2020 the central government of China imposed a lockdown in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province in the effort to quarantine the centre of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. At least 25 people have died and more than 800 have suffered the mysterious illness. The travel restrictions imposed on Wuhan had led to travellers being stranded at several train stations, ahead of the Lunar Year celebration. At the time, I was in Tianjin, a city about 613 miles from Wuhan. I witnessed the panic at the Tianjin speed train station as passengers could not continue their journey to Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province. I then decided to cancel the press trip I was supposed to take from Tianjin to Shanghai, and returned to Beijing that night. Then I contacted a colleague in Wuhan to ask about the situation concerning hundreds of Indonesian people that were now trapped in the capital of Hubei province. The situation was terrible and my colleague's wife was stuck in said situation. The information circulated on social media platforms back in Indonesia did not ease their hardship, and made them suffer even more. Ironically, instead of getting support, they were bullied by fake news about the coronavirus issue. As a correspondent stationed in China, I made serious efforts to help improve their spirit of survival with positive news that are full of humanitarian interests. I also encouraged several editor in chief of Indonesian media to boost everybody's confidence. Compared to Wuhan, the situation in Beijing was not much different. At least five local residents in the city had also been infected, some of them were medical workers who had just returned from Wuhan. Therefore, the police personnel in Beijing carried out their tracing down measures, by asking everyone whether they had been travelling to Wuhan in the past 14 days. My family and I also had to be questioned regarding travel records for the past 14 days. Thankfully, all of the questions that were raised by the policewomen were successfully answered, we passed the questioning by the authorities and I can go out for shopping and other activities, by still having to wear masks. I made reports for the Indonesian audiences on the current situation of the Indonesian people in Wuhan form day to day. They were in good condition and were all healthy. They also received daily needs assistance from the Indonesian Embassy. Finally, I was elated when the various efforts had resulted in positive development, when 238 Indonesians were successfully withdrawn from Wuhan and evacuated to Indonesia safely and smoothly on February 1, 2020. It was an unforgettable moment that I have never experienced before. I will continue to pray for the COVID-19 crisis to end and for the recovery of the global life. * Travelers on the Beijing subway on January 22, 2020 had prepared to celebrate Lunar New Year in their hometown. The culinary street on Beijing Dongzhimennei Road on January 25, 2020. The advance team of the Indonesian Embassy distributed boarding passes to Indonesian citizens before evacuated from China of Wuhan to Indonesia Natuna Island on January 31, 2020.