India, however, went a different way. On March 11, it suspended all foreign visas except for diplomatic, official, United Nations/international organisations, employment and project visas. This suspension included the “visa free” entry privileges of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders – people with Indian heritage and foreign passports who continue to have close ties with the country. India does not allow dual citizenship.

Then, in an unprecedented move, India on March 18 closed its borders to its own citizens flying in from Europe, including the UK and Turkey, leaving thousands stranded overseas and unable to return home.

There was sheer panic in the days following the announcement as Indian citizens abroad – tourists, students, employees – desperately tried to book flights home.

The situation at the airports was frantic, said Pariat. “Rules were just being dropped like bombs, and without a thought to how that was affecting people and their journeys back home.”

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For Michael M, an American who has lived with his Indian partner in New Delhi for almost 10 years, the ruling has meant an indefinite separation from his partner and their eight-year-old twins.

As a gay couple, their relationship is not recognised by the Indian government. His partner is an OCI and Michael is on a long-term tourist visa. He left the country to comply with his visa conditions and has been unable to return.

“The government’s decision was made too fast,” he said. “If there had been any warning, people like me could have worked it out, instead of being in another country.”

His family is more vulnerable in situations like this, he said, because the rules make it even harder for them to seek and receive help.

Devika Jhala, who lives with her 73-year-old mother in Kolkata, was on holiday in Barbados when the lockdown was announced, with as little as four hours notice. She is still in Barbados, staying with friends.

While she understands the need for the lockdown, she felt better support could have been offered to residents and citizens who wanted to return home. Even if she had been able to take her flight to Delhi, internal travel restrictions mean she would not have been able to get to Kolkata.

“I’m taking it day by day, trying not to panic,” she said.

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Jhala’s major concern is her mother getting sick and not being able to have her family at her bedside. “It’s lonely. It’s the mental toll that India doesn’t talk about or even consider.”

There are an estimated 1 million Indian students abroad. Over 500 of those studying in Bangladesh filed a court petition pleading to be repatriated, but these evacuations have been limited to severely hit countries such as China, Italy, and Iran. Two Air India flights evacuated about 200 students and pilgrims.

But Pariat received no help from the embassy in Italy. “All the information we managed to get was thanks to friends and contacts in India,” she said.

“For me, what was most frightening was not knowing when you’re going to see your family, your partner, again. And suddenly feeling like there is no bridge across which you can travel. Suddenly, everything is closed, and what was worse was the precariousness of not knowing how things were going to be from minute to minute, hour to hour, because things were changing so fast.”