Tough choices for Chinese students

As the ambulance took her to the hospital, she was shivering, coughing and finding it difficult to breathe. A doctor chatted with her throughout the journey, sharing his experience of infectious diseases. He even sang a song for her.

"His beautiful singing made me cry. It was the worst homesickness I had felt since coming to London, as I feared I may never see my family again," Li said.

In her ward, an electrical screen on the ceiling showed images of a blue sky. Li's pulse, temperature and blood pressure were monitored every 30 minutes.

Medical workers told her to drink water and eat as much food as she could. They also gave her paracetamol for her fever.

"I wanted to enhance my resistance levels, so I ate a lot of food, although I didn't want to," she said.

Li noticed that the nurses were extremely busy. They mostly treated elderly patients, some of whom found it difficult to move about.

"Through the French window in my ward, I could see that some of the nurses outside in the corridor were not wearing face masks or protective goggles. I was worried about their safety. They told me I must wear a mask when they entered the ward," she said.

Li was given free treatment, food and drink at the hospital.

"Only those with severe symptoms were sent there and tested. Once in the hospital, I felt much more secure," she said.

After Li shared her experience online, the Chinese embassy in London introduced her to two doctors. Chinese students who fell ill also contacted her for help, and she asked them to contact the doctors for advice.

In London, Li is majoring in risk and disaster reduction and has attended lectures on public health.

She said she has also studied the data for the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003.

"The casualty figures are more than just numbers－there are many stories behind them. We need to learn how to cope with disaster," she said.