We Had to Evacuate from Italy

I arrived in Rome in January to begin my last semester of college, a semester that I would spend abroad in the beautiful city of Rome. Early on, I heard news that my University had to evacuate the students who were studying in China because of the coronavirus outbreak. This was the first time I had heard of coronavirus.

Coronavirus. It felt like something that was far away from me, something concerning, but not of concern to me personally. Then, we heard that there were cases in Europe. When I travelled to England, I checked the news to see if there were any cases in the UK. I learned that there were two. I relaxed a little.

The anxiety was gone for awhile. I would check the news every now and then to see what the current situation was. Coronavirus did not seem to be spreading in Europe, so I felt safe. It seemed like overnight that the situation in Italy changed. All of the sudden, there was a rapid increase in numbers of cases. We were told not to travel to the North of Italy, but so many people already had.

Our school arranged an informational session, in which they informed us of the precautions we should take, but assured us they planned to keep the program running. That was Wednesday. On Saturday, they had a vastly different email to send us.

It felt like it came out of nowhere. My friends and I had travelled to Prague for the weekend. We were out at a bar when we heard from another friend that we needed to check our emails. There it was: the news none of us were expecting, and that none of us wanted to here. Our semester was not even halfway over. We had so much left to experience in Europe. How could it all be over?

My first response was denial. It couldn't be right, could it? But it only took a second to sink in. We couldn't stop the tears from streaming down our faces as we sat at the bar, listing everything we would miss so dearly.

The next emotion that hit hard was fear. I did not realize how serious the outbreak was until that moment. It wasn't just the flu. They wouldn't have us evacuate the country because of the flu. So many of us students had travelled to Northern Italy, and if we hadn't, we had been in contact with someone who had. We could be carrying the virus without knowing it. We could be spreading the virus. We could develop symptoms any day.

We had three days to pack up and get a flight back to the states. When we arrived back at home, we had instructions to self-quarantine for 14 days. At this time, this was a very strange concept. I told my parents and my friends back at home. They were shocked that I actually had to stay in the house without leaving for so long. I made plans for when my 14 days were over. I planned to meet up with friends at coffee shops, to get a job in Chicago, and to return to the campus of my University. At that time, quarantine was something you only had to do if you were returning from Europe.

How quickly everything changed. I found out that campus was closing. I would be completing my last semester of college online. At first I was counting down the days until the end of my quarantine, but then, it was extended, not only for travelers returning from Europe, but for everyone.

This was now affecting everyone in the world. We were all in the same boat from that point forward. The number of cases in the United States was growing. The situation in Italy had progressed for the worst. I was hit with a sense of survivor's guilt when I realized that my classmates and I had left the country just in time.

The coronavirus outbreak is a strange, unprecedented situation that is affecting so many people in ways you may not realize. But we will get through. As one of my wise professors said, things will go back to normal, but it will never be as if nothing ever happened. This outbreak is impacting the whole world, and the only option we have is to stand together, but six feet apart.

Follow this link, where you can donate to the Italian healthcare system.