"I can say I barely got by because my city has been on lockdown since the minute I left," says Thuraya Taleb in an Instagram video after arriving in Beirut, Lebanon on Feb. 4.
Taleb, a Lebanese national, is referring to the Chinese city of Hangzhou where she has been living since she left her home country years ago. The city, like many others in China, has been on lockdown ever since the coronavirus epidemic paralyzed the entire country.
The virus' outbreak is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, where it has apparently infected several workers at a seafood market back in mid-December. As of Feb. 12, Chinese officials said 1,100 people have died from coronavirus, now officially referred to as COVID-19.
Taleb details her shocking arrival in Beirut in an Instagram IGTV video titled "Corona Virus in Lebanon" in which she details her harrowing experience upon arrival to her home country. She sheds light on Lebanon's irresponsible approach regarding the recent outbreak.
The Instagram video, which now has over 17,500 views, quickly circulated online and was subsequently picked up by local Lebanese media outlets. Since no confirmed cases of the rapidly spreading virus have been reported in Lebanon, it's safe to say the title of the video itself was provoking enough.
In the video, Taleb explains that someone reached out to her aunt to check-up on her but affirms she only has one specific demand from the Ministry of Public Health. That demand goes as follows: the official coronavirus exam, which if tested negative, would free her from isolation.
After a hectic journey to Beirut's Rafic Hariri Airport, Taleb rummaged through the premises to find a room allocated for screening or "at least a sign directing incomers from China," but says took precautionary measures herself. She asked a lady at the airport to get her temperature checked.
Upon leaving the airport, Taleb purposely isolated herself in a friend's empty house in the Lebanese city of Broumana in case symptoms of the virus show up.
The virus can stay ducked in a person's body for 14 days before it manifests, she explains in her video. Isolating herself was her way of keeping loved ones safe in the absence of governmental action. Taleb also spoke of multiple Chinese people who arrived in Beirut on the plane with her, removed their masks, and carried on with their lives.
Her initial incentive for recording and posting the video was spreading awareness on the absence of protocol with respect to the virus and people arriving from China to Lebanon.
But Hamad Hassan, Lebanon's Minister of Public Health, doesn't agree. He claims the ministry is taking the same necessary precautions every other country is taking on sea, land, and air as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Better safe than sorry," says Taleb in a quick status update on her Insta story after she was quarantined at Rafik Hariri Hospital by the Ministry of Health.
To this day, she still doesn't suffer from any apparent symptom. Hassan says the official coronavirus test is now available at said hospital but it's unclear whether or not Taleb has since taken it.
She informed her followers via Instagram of being subject to routine measures like a blood test, temperature check, and nasal swap at the hospital.
Taleb isn't the only Lebanese coming from China who was quarantined in said hospital. Another arriver from China, a student whose name hasn't been revealed, was quarantined before Taleb in Rafic Hariri Hospital despite good health conditions, according to a tweet by Hassan.
In an effort to comfort the Lebanese public, Hassan said the follow-up of passengers from China is being regulated by the ministry, reaffirming that quarantine is available for those detected with high temperature or those coming from high-risk areas in China. Hassan also stated in an interview that the coronavirus test will only be given to those with apparent symptoms of the virus.
In the viral video, Taleb took a moment to thank Zaher El Aridi, the Consul at the Embassy of Lebanon in Beijing, who personally contacted every single Lebanese in China and constantly followed up with them.
Taleb was accused by numerous social media users of being "reckless" and "irresponsible" for returning to Lebanon without prior testing, but she reiterates that she could have easily contracted the virus in the train station or at the airport (where viruses and diseases are most commonly spread).
In an update she later posted to her Instagram story, Taleb announced she has since decided she won't be giving interviews to any media outlet due to the false information they've been spreading about her, assuring viewers she will be posting any update on her personal page.