Coronavirus in Kerala: Vlogger's isolation video goes viral

KANNUR: Two million views and counting ...
The large numbers of people watching his YouTube channel, Mallu Traveler, which captures adventure travels, is nothing new for Kannur-based vlogger Shakir Subhan.
But the numbers for his latest video astounded him, because it captures his life in the isolation ward of Kannur District Hospital, where he got admitted to three days as part of observation and tests for Covid-19 last week.
The 'Corona' travel series, which he began from Azerbaijan, and ended with this release on March 8 from the hospital after it was confirmed that he had not been infected, mainly focuses on life in the isolation ward, after he landed in Kannur airport, wearing an N95 mask, and walking like a VIP with a selfie stick.
Though Subhan was disappointed that he had to cut short the solo motorbike ride which he began in October 2019 from Kannur, after Georgia denied him entry in the wake of the coronavirus threat, hospital life was a new experience, he said. By then he had visited Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Iran, as also some parts of Azerbaijan.
"Though I wanted to sensitize people on how should they manage the virus threat and why it is important to cooperate with health authorities, I never expected such a response and over two million people have already watched them and thousands are sharing," said Subhan, a resident of Iritty. The story of his first day in the isolation ward has already garnered 1.2 million views on just YouTube. The latest, posted on Monday, after he received the negative test result, got around 1.5 lakh views in less than two hours.
Life in an isolation ward is a nightmare for those who have just heard about it. But for this adventure traveller it was a positive experience, though there was loneliness, as nobody except the designated nurses came near him, he said.
The ward, where he was admitted to from March 6 to 8, gave him unparalleled experience and this made him realize how precisely Kerala handles this situation, he said.
"It was on February 15 that I left Iran and reached Azerbaijan from there I wanted to go to Georgia, but when the authorities denied me permission to enter the country, as I had travelled in Iran where the virus infection was reported, the only option was to come back home," says the globetrotter.
So, after a few days of uncertainty and vlogging he got the flight from Azerbaijan to Kannur, via Dubai, and landed here on March 6 and directly went to the hospital. Though the three days were of uncertainty, as he waited for results, he said he was ready to stay for even 15 days in the isolation ward, if required.
"The isolation wards here are neat and clean and the treatment perfect, which reflects how advanced the health scenario in Kerala is," he said.
From the VIP treatment in the airport to the ambulance ride to the isolation ward and the occasional glimpses of the world outside he captures through the closed windows of the ward, the videos have a positive vibe.
"Here we are safe and my request to the expatriates is that if at all they have any suspicion, they should directly go to the hospital instead of their home, and convey the matter to the officials at the airport itself so that they would make arrangements to take you to the hospital," he said.
But in many of the airports, he was not inspected at all and no separate seat was provided, said the adventure traveller, who said he always made sure he sanitized himself using sanitizer.