India photojournalist records life in quarantine

Mumbai, India: Rafiq Maqbool remembers never flinching while covering high-risk news assignments such as the war in Afghanistan, the Sri Lankan tsunami or the conflict in Kashmir, where he grew up and decided to become a photojournalist. | A stamped by a doctor advising for home quarantine for 14 days from Associated Press photographer Rafiq Maqbool at a hotel in Mumbai, India.

India has reported more than 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 1,000 deaths. Since March 24, its 1.3 billion people have been living under one of the world's strictest stay-at-home orders, forced to remain indoors except to buy food and other necessities. Essential workers including hospital staff, pharmacists, grocers and journalists are exempt.

But a call on April 20 filled him with a dread he had never felt before. The caller told the 43-year-old Associated Press photographer that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. | A praying mat is lying on the floor before the start of prayer of Associated Press photographer Rafiq Maqbool.

A food tiffin, along water and milk is seen at the door of Rafiq Maqbool during his quarantine at a hotel in Mumbai, India.

At the urging of health authorities, more than 160 journalists were tested for the virus in Mumbai on April 18. | A bird flies at sunset as seen from the hotel room of Rafiq Maqbool. He was among dozens of journalists who tested positive for COVID-19 and then moved collectively to the hotel.

Fifty-three tested positive, including many who were asymptomatic. Maqbool was one of them. | A mask lies along with food on a table in the hotel room of Rafiq Maqbool where he was quarantined in Mumbai, India.

When Maqbool learned of the results, he cut short an assignment and drove home. Fear and despair gripped his mind. "I knew I was a mess,'' he said. | A prayer mat, cap and a good luck charm lies on the table of Associated Press photographer Rafiq Maqbool at a hotel during his quarantine in Mumbai, India.

He spent hours looking out the window at birds flocking on a tree outside. The scene brought him comfort. But 15 kilometers (9 miles) away, Maqbool's wife was feeling increasingly strained. | Rafiq Maqbool watches a Bollywood film at a hotel in Mumbai, India.

Maqbool was placed in quarantine in a hotel along with 40 other journalists, with the remainder quarantined elsewhere. The staff would ring his room's doorbell, put food outside and leave. Every morning there would be phone calls from the nurse or doctor on duty to check his health. | A civic employe put a stamp which say home quarantine for 2 weeks to a photojournalist after his report came negative at a hotel in Mumbai, India.

The children demanded to know where their father was. Neighbors had to be assured everything was fine. Authorities sealed his apartment building. Maqbool turned to prayer, which helped him feel better. | Rafiq Maqbool's daughters are seen on a screen as they video chat with their father at a hotel room in Mumbai.

Over the next few days, a chat group formed by the hotel residents became his second family where other journalists talked about their experiences. | A view from the window at a hotel in Mumbai, India.

"It was our little ghetto in the time of the coronavirus,'' he said. He would also spend time taking pictures, his camera clicking images that would form this photo gallery. | A mask is seen hanging on the good luck charm of Associated Press photographer Rafiq Maqbool at a hotel in Mumbai, India.

On day 5, he and the other hotel residents were tested again. When the results come back two days later, Maqbool and his colleagues were found to be negative for the virus. Later that day, on April 27, he was reunited with his family. | A reflection of Rafiq Maqbool is seen on the glass of a window during his quarantine at a hotel in Mumbai, India.