A Thai AFS Exchange Student in Italy Experience to Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Our daughter was an AFS student to Italy, taken by
the host family in Monza, 20 minutes from Milano, the
program was initially planned until July 2020 but was
unexpectedly terminated due to the surge of daily infection
rate of Covid-19 of the country. The school in Lombardi
region, the centre of Italy pandemic, had been closed since
the final week of February, and increasing new patients
made AFS Intercultura Programs decided to evacuate all
students from the Red zone to Rome before dispatch all
the students home. The process was notified just two days

before the train departure from Milano Centrale to Roma
Termini, AFS had warned all families to prepare for student
quarantined after arrivals. It was a last minute discussion
and collaboration with the Royal Thai government and The
Thai Embassy in Rome, so all Thai AFS students to Italy
boarded the final departure fight from Rome on Thai
Airways International and taken to the state quarantine in
Royal Navy Base in Sattahip.