By TRN Online, Kathmandu, March. 1: Owing to heightened risk of infections following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan of Hubei Province in China and repeated request of the Nepalis residing there, Nepal had fetched and quarantined 175 Nepalis from Wuhan on February 15.

With the 14-day quarantine period almost over, the returnees are just one day away from joining their families. They are expected to be released from the quarantine tomorrow, Monday, after examining their final health reports.

Pramila Poudel, 26, one of the returnees said, “We are very much excited to go back to our respective homes and see our families.”

Poudel was a student of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan.

Our stay in the quarantine was very memorable, she said.

Poudel said that all of the returnees were skeptical about living in the same place for 14 days.

“At first, we thought that it would be an uphill battle for us to kill time here in quarantine,” she said. “But the government’s preparations kept us in awe.”

Poudel said that the government had provided various recreational facilities to ensure that the returnees wouldn’t feel bored.

“We passed time by playing volleyball, badminton, carom-board and by watching TV and movies,” she said. “We were also provided with the internet facility.”

Saurav Luitel of Jhapa, another quarantine member, said that he felt the 14 days passed in the blink of an eye.

Luitel made it a point that indoor and outdoor games available in the quarantine had kept them active throughout the stay.

“The university used to send us study-courses, assignment and tasks through e-mail and videos,” Luitel said. “We continued our studies while staying at the quarantine through the internet.”

Poudel said that the relationship among all the 175 quarantine members was like that of a family.

“We survived the life-taking virus together so we share a very emotional bond,” she said. “Two days ago, all of us were at the terrace, singing and dancing together. It was an emotional moment for us all.”

14 days didn’t feel much long as we spent most of our times together by playing cards, studying and carrying out other recreational activities.

Poudel said that they were thankful to the government for not only successfully rescuing them during the global emergency, but also for providing them with a well-facilitated quarantine.

She said, “The 14 days stay at quarantine has definitely been imprinted very brightly in our memory.”

When the virus broke out, we had lost all of our hopes of surviving the virus and reuniting with our families, she added.

Poudel lauded the government for successfully performing its duty of protecting its citizens during the global emergency.