Trapped in Wuhan: the Indonesian students at centre of coronavirus lockdown
- Nearly 250 Indonesian students are thought to remain in Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province, awaiting evacuation by their government
- But their prospects of leaving are unclear – and some worry that even if they make it home, they may not be welcomed
Eva Taibe is scared to leave her home in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak that has already killed more than 100 people and infected thousands.
While the Chinese authorities are still allowing residents to leave their houses on foot, public buses and subways have been ordered to stop operating, unnerving the Indonesian doctoral student.
The streets are eerily quiet, though the stillness is punctuated by the sound of sirens as ambulances go “back and forth” around the city, said Taibe, 37, who studies psychology at the Central China Normal University (CCNU) in Wuhan.
Most shops are closed and nearly all private cars have been banned from the roads, though some taxis and other vehicles can still be seen on the streets.
Taibe, who has lived in Wuhan since 2016, and her fellow Indonesians have asked their embassy in Beijing to send food, medicine and vitamin C to Wuhan and have also asked their government to evacuate them.
But they are still waiting, both for news of any evacuation and supplies, adding to their sense of isolation.
