She was the first confirmed patient of Covid-19 in India. Now, the Wuhan-returnee MBBS student is not sure she wants to return to China for her studies, says her father.

A year has passed since India saw its first coronavirus case in Kerala. A student pursuing MBBS in China’s Wuhan city – where the pandemic is believed to have originated – returned home, and tested positive. Now, her father says she is unsure of returning back to her college even as the Covid threat continues. “She is attending a coaching programme in Thrissur to make up for her lost academic days. She now views her Covid infection as a minor chapter in life, though at that point all of us were worried,” her father told the Times of India.

He added that she does not want to talk to anyone about the period.

The fourth-year medical student returned to India on January 24, as Wuhan began to see a spate of the then mysterious virus. Within two days of her coming back, she developed a cough and was admitted to the district hospital where her swab was collected.

With her test report, the pandemic had knocked on India’s door.

“We saw in the news that the first case of corona virus is from Thrissur, but we did not know that it was my daughter. We were very scared when we got to know she was positive. It was a very sad time for us. I was very scared and depressed,” her father told the Print.

She remained in the Covid ward for 28 days. People who had come in contact with, including her father, were also quarantined.

He said he was grateful to Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja, and Thrissur’s district collector Shanavas for all their help.

But her father is worried about her education. “The biggest tension is that I don’t know when my daughter can return to Wuhan. I’m not educated, so I want my daughter to study,” he said. He said he is concerned for other students like her daughter, who have been left in the lurch due to the pandemic, as well.