Jackie DunhamCTVNews.ca Staff Writer
@JaclynLDunham Contact
Published Friday, February 7, 2020 12:16AM ESTLast Updated Friday, February 7, 2020 7:03PM EST
TORONTO -- A second plane carrying Canadian citizens who were in lockdown in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, has landed in Ontario.
The first plane landed at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Quinte West, approximately 170 kilometres east of Toronto, just before 7 a.m. local time on Friday morning. The Canadian government-chartered flight brought 174 people, including 13 permanent residents and six Chinese nationals who escorted 34 Canadian minors, back home from China.
The second plane, chartered by the U.S. government, landed at the military base early Friday afternoon. That flight carried 39 Canadians from Wuhan.
Both planes made refuelling stops in Vancouver before they landed in Ontario. The first flight was initially scheduled to leave on Wednesday, but it was delayed due to bad weather. The second U.S. flight departed Wuhan a few hours after the first.
While there was room on the Canadian flight for 211 passengers, only 176 boarded the plane because Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said there were some no-shows, as they expected.
Another flight for any remaining Canadians in Wuhan is scheduled to depart on Feb. 10.
Two-thirds of Canadians who requested to leave Wuhan have already been evacuated, according to Champagne.
Upon arrival at the air force base, the passengers underwent a medical assessment before they were transported to accommodations on the base where they will be monitored for two weeks to ensure they haven’t contracted the virus.
Anyone who exhibits symptoms will be transported to a local hospital for further treatment.
During the isolation period, the evacuees will be individually isolated in a 290-room motel-like accommodation that is regularly used to house military families and other visitors to the base.
Families will be kept together during the 14-day quarantine at the base.
Montrealers Megan Millward, Lie Zhang, and their two young children said they were relieved to be back in Canada all together. They were worried Zhang wouldn’t be able to join them on the plane because he’s a permanent resident and not a Canadian citizen; however, he was given permission to board with them moments before takeoff.
When they arrived at CFB Trenton, Millward told CTV News Channel they spoke with officials from the Red Cross who asked them if they needed any supplies for the isolation period, such as diapers and wipes.
Millward said the room where they will be staying in for the next two weeks resembles a “fully equipped hotel room.”
“It has the most important things, which are Wi-Fi and television,” she said with a laugh.
The parents said their two children were also given colouring books and other toys to keep them occupied during their stay.
“I think definitely the worst is behind us. It will be a breeze finding things to do with them,” Millward said. “We’ll definitely make it. We’re not worried.”
Millward also said they will be allowed to go outside in a specially marked area for fresh air and they’re allowed to chat with the other families in the building who are also under quarantine.
Another one of the passengers on the first flight, Myriam Larouche, a 25-year-old woman from L'Ascension, Que. who is studying tourism management at the Central China Normal University in Wuhan, said she was relieved to be back on Canadian soil when the plane stopped to refuel in Vancouver.
“I’m so happy, so relieved. So happy to be back home,” she told CTV News Channel early Friday morning.
Larouche said the passengers erupted into applause as soon as the pilot finished his announcement over the speaker system when they landed in Vancouver.
“Everybody was just so happy to be back and be safe,” she said.
While the flight was “really long,” Larouche said Canadian officials were so helpful throughout the journey that it made it go by quicker.
Larouche said she’s not worried about the next two weeks in isolation at the military base. She said once she gets the all-clear from health officials and her university in China re-opens, she plans to return to her studies in Wuhan.
“I met lots of people from around the world. It’s a beautiful city,” she said. “It’s really sad what’s happening there. It could have happened anywhere in the world.”
As of Friday, there have been 636 deaths and 31,161 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on mainland China. Hong Kong has had one death and 22 cases and Macao has had 10 cases.
There have been five confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Canada so far with two more presumptive cases identified in British Columbia.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press