In virus-hit 'ghost town', stranded Thai student waits for help

Thai medical student Badeephak Kaosala is seen on a computer screen as he speaks in an interview about being stranded in Wuhan, China, which is under lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, January 27, 2020 in this still image taken from social media video . Badeephak Kaosala/via REUTERS

BANGKOK (Reuters) - When Thai medical student Badeephak Kaosala dares to leave his rented apartment in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, he puts on a mask, gloves, a hat and layers of clothing to try to avoid infection with the coronavirus that has the city on lockdown.

"Anywhere you go, you are always self-conscious of touching someone or you always have to keep in mind that you have to keep a distance from the person you're walking next to - when he sneezes, when he coughs, even when he breathes," said the 23-year-old student at Wuhan's Tongji Medical College.