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Canadian actress Mannu Sandhu says her family in Surrey, B.C., has been anxiously waiting to hear how relatives in India are faring after news of a recent surge of COVID-19 cases there.
“My dad went to India in the end of January and he was supposed to come back pretty much the beginning of April,” Sandhu said.
But her father, a Canadian citizen, hasn’t been able to find a flight out. She worries if he stays in India, he too could get hit with the novel coronavirus. But if he leaves, he could come in contact with it on the long journey home.
On Friday, India surpassed one million cases of COVID-19, which has prompted renewed concerns among family members in Vancouver, separated from relatives since the pandemic was declared in March.
For Sandhu, everything is a waiting game right now. The 32-year-old is in Surrey with her mother, brother, and sister, waiting anxiously to hear whether her father will not only be able to return to Canada, but whether her grandmother and extended family will be safe in India.
“She’s elderly and we’re concerned about her health at this point,” Sandhu said.
Sandhu’s concerns are echoed by Indian community members in Canada who are fearful that India — already struck by so much poverty — will be ill equipped for a potential second wave of the virus.
Neil Shah, 62, was stuck in India for two months when COVID-19 shut down most flights in and out of the country. Now back in Vancouver, his wife’s family remains at their home in India and he worries about their health.
“If one of them gets infected, then we will not be able to attend or visit them, and God forbid, if one of them passes away, then we will not be able to attend the funeral,” Shah said.
Shah said the surge in cases has heightened his fear because he initially believed India’s hot climate would protect his family.
“Initially, the thought was that it’s hot so the virus won’t survive the hotness … because it does get to 40 or 45 degrees Celsius in the summer,” Shah said.
Sandhu said while it’s no surprise the surge has happened, she thinks the reality of the virus has been amplified by recent news that one of Bollywood’s most popular celebrity families has been infected.
Indian actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter have been hospitalized for COVID-19, the Times of India reported on Saturday, days after her husband and father-in-law were admitted.
“It’s not really looking at any race, whether you’re wealthy or poor. It’s going to get you,” Sandhu said.
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