A woman cyclist from Spain stranded in Tripura for more than two months due to Covid-19-related restrictions finally left the state on Monday evening.
Yesenia Herrera Febles, who on March 9 entered Tripura through the Akhaura International Check Post (ICP) from Bangladesh, left Agartala for Delhi in a special train.
Febles, a nurse by profession, was on a cycle tour of South Asia.
She stayed in Agartala for 10 days before travelling to Kanchanpur in Tripura’s North district.
As she was about to cross the Tripura-Mizoram border, a healthcare team sent her back to Agartala for a Covid-19 test, Hindustan Times reported.
In Agartala, she was sent for 14-day quarantine and then shifted to another quarantine centre for a fortnight, Febles said.
“I was perplexed. I had no symptoms, had already spent 10 days in Tripura and there was no point of placing me under quarantine for 14 days again.
“But I was still placed under quarantine for two weeks. After being discharged from there, I moved to Bhagat Singh Youth Hostel in Agartala, where they set up a quarantine centre soon after. I had to stay inside like the quarantined people for another 14 days,” Indian Express quoted Febles as saying.
The cyclist said she was allowed to enter the state after screening as she didn’t have any flu-like symptoms.
She also faced problems in communicating with government officials as she speaks only Spanish and English.
“There was so much misinformation and absolute lack of information. I am a Spanish citizen. So, I kept asking everyone where foreign nationals should go for information. It seemed no one knew anything,” Fables said.
After several days, she got in touch with a district health officer of West Tripura, who briefed her about state government instructions. She subsequently managed to contact Father Paul Pudussery, in-charge of the Asha centre maintained by Holy Cross and the Missionaries of Charity, and she got food and accommodation free of cost.
At the Asha centre, she met three other cyclists – Clifin J Francis, Haseeb Ahsan and Donna Ann Jacob – who planned to travel to Tokyo for the Olympic Games.
Febles and the three other cyclists got involved in social service, including the distribution of food, face masks, hand sanitisers and soap among needy people during their stay in the Asha centre, said Father Paul.
After reaching Delhi, Yesenia Herrera Febles plans to catch a flight to Madrid on May 30. He friends, however, still wait for their turn.
