A medical worker takes blood sample for a COVID-19 test of an overseas Chinese student returning home at a quarantine location in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province on March 17. Photo: cnsphoto

With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading globally, more Chinese students who study abroad have chosen to return to China by overcoming all difficulties.

Some of the returned students expressed gratitude about their travel experience on social media, saying the strict but considerate measures against the virus during the journey make them feel safe.

Cao, a Chinese student who studies in the UK, posted a vlog online about her 30-hour exhausted and nervous journey from London to Shanghai via Singapore 

"It feels so good"to return home, she said at the end of the video, wiping tears.

"The medical staff suddenly stood up when they saw me approaching, then they did information checking and asked me about quarantine… it was 1 am and they were sleeping," Cao said in the video. "While I was waiting, the janitors sprayed sterilized water every hour."

After landing, Cao and another man from the UK were sent to a hotel for quarantine. She was impressed by the meticulous arrangement in the hotel. 

"I was touched. Everybody is making contribution to the country," she said.

After finishing the medical tests in Shanghai, Cao has been self-isolating at her home in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province. Every day she receives calls from different departments, ranging from city, district to the community, asking about her condition.

Passengers arrive at Hong Kong International Airport from London, the UK on March 18, including many students of British universities from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. Photo: cnsphoto

Chinese student Xiao Mi, 18, who studies in Oxford, the UK, returned to Beijing via Frankfurt, Germany. She shared her travel experience on a WeChat platform, in which she showed that most people at the airports in London and Frankfurt did not wear a mask.

After being highly-nervous with fully protection in the planes and airports, Xiao Mi arrived in Beijing and was then sent to quarantine. She was told later that among the passengers on the flight, seven were tested positive after landing. Luckily, her two tests were both showed negative.

Whether overseas students should return to China has caused hot debate online. The complaints made by some students on being quarantined have aroused aversion among many people.

Many cities in China have been implementing strict quarantine measures against possible imported cases on international flights, including a 14-day-quarantine at home or at designated places. 

Shanghai has decided to conduct nucleic acid tests on all inbound passengers. Passengers at the Pudong International Airport with COVID19 symptoms will be directly sent to medical institutes for diagnosis and treatment. Other passengers will be sent to designated places for quarantine or have quarantine at home.

Global Times