Plane carrying Canadians who left China amid coronavirus outbreak lands at CFB Trenton

No one on board the airlift from Wuhan, China that landed at CFB Trenton in Ontario Friday morning showed symptoms of the coronavirus or other illness during the flight, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said.

The plane left Wuhan on Thursday. It arrived in Vancouver around 9 p.m. PT for a refuelling stop before carrying on to the Ontario military base. 

“Fortunately no one showed symptoms on the plane, so no one had to disembark at the fuelling station in Vancouver,” Hajdu told host Matt Galloway in an interview on CBC Radio’s The Current.

Passengers who returned on the flight out of Wuhan are now under a 14-day quarantine at the military base to see if they develop symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Hajdu said the evacuees have been under a “tremendous amount of stress,” anxiety and boredom from the lockdown in Wuhan. Many of them have been separated from their children or have had to leave loved ones behind.

Mental health services will be provided on the base, she said, and officials are taking steps to keep people occupied while under quarantine, including play centres.

“Although the passengers won’t be interacting with each other, there will be opportunities for them to leave their room and entertain their children, and of course all of that will be co-ordinated with the health officials that are there,” she said.

There were 176 passengers on board the flight. Others who had advised the government they intended to take the flight were not on board; an official said some were not allowed due to medical reasons, though not necessarily the coronavirus, and others may have changed their minds at the last minute.

Border controls ‘least-effective’ way to prevent spread

Hajdu said evacuees will undergo an initial screening before being shown to their rooms, where they will have time for rest before a more comprehensive assessment. They will be continually monitored by medical officials at the base, and will be transferred to a local hospital if they develop any symptoms.

Meals will be delivered to the rooms and social interactions will be limited.

Some countries, including the United States, have restricted entry to travellers from China.

Hajdu said the World Health Organization (WHO) has given recommendations on what works and what does not to stop the spread of infectious diseases.

“Border controls are the least-effective way to contain the spread,” she said, adding that screening, sharing information and following advice are the best measures.

WHO officials in Geneva provided updated numbers on the spread of the coronavirus Friday, noting that China now has 31,211 cases and 637 deaths. Outside China, there have been 270 cases in 24 countries reported, and one death.

In Canada, there have been seven cases reported — three in Ontario and four in British Columbia.

WHO officials said there is a dire need for medical supplies such as masks and respirators in China, and asked other countries not to “hoard” their supplies.

‘I’m going to sleep for 20 hours straight’

Myriam Larouche, a 25-year-old from L’Ascension, Que., told The Canadian Press that the stretch from Wuhan to Vancouver had been “pretty long” but that most everyone on the plane slept through much of the flight.

“I think I’m going to sleep for 20 hours straight,” Larouche said, noting that the last few days have been stressful.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said there was a “small number of no-shows” at the airport in China as some people had changed their minds about leaving.

A group of 39 Canadian passengers who wanted to leave Wuhan were allowed on a U.S. government flight. Those passengers arrived in Vancouver early Friday.

From there, passengers transfer on to a Canadian chartered flight that will transport them to CFB Trenton, where they will be housed under quarantine.

Public health officials say the overall risk to people in Canada from the novel coronavirus is low.

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