Kate Andrews has found herself in the middle of the European hotspot of covid-19. Attending university in Milan, she has seen first-hand the lockdown of a number of communities in the Lombardy region of Italy, and then, the complete lockdown of the region. It has culminated in the entire country being locked down this week.

Andrews managed to book herself and a classmate tickets to fly from Milan to Rome before all flights from the region were cancelled. The plan was to visit a friend who lives on a farm just outside the historic Italian capital. They took the flight on the weekend, surprised the flight hadn’t been cancelled. Then, things took an unexpected twist.

“The next day, the police showed up, because they had tracked us somehow, and they knew we had arrived, and we were to go on quarantine because we had just come from the Lombardy region,” Andrews told Discover Weyburn. The quarantine was to last for 14 days.

For Andrews, the visit from the local authorities came just as she and her classmates were looking at flights to get back home to their respective countries due to the situation. Then, the news came the entire country was being placed under a quarantine, which meant no travel whatsoever.

“People aren’t encouraged to go out,” Andrews said. “They can go to get groceries, and that’s about it.”

For the time being, Andrews is on a farm outside Rome, with her friend and her classmate. They aren’t able to leave, and they can’t have anyone come to visit. There is a bright spot, though.

“It’s a gorgeous area, and it's a farm so we have room to go outside, but it’s going to be difficult.”

Andrews added their university courses are being made available online, so they will also have that to help keep themselves busy.

As for what will happen after the quarantines are lifted, Andrews isn’t sure. She said she would like to return to Canada when she is able to, but there is the possibility, if she does, she could be looking at being under quarantine for another two weeks after leaving a country which is a hotspot for covid-19, something she isn’t looking forward to.

“I’ll have to see.”

So far, covid-19 has been detected in more than 75 countries around the globe. The latest numbers from the World Health Organization indicate there have been nearly 110,000 cases globally, with just over 3800 deaths. Here in Canada, there have been 62 confirmed cases of covid-19 and one death. 

There have been no reported cases of covid-19 in Saskatchewan.