UPDATE 1-First Canadian coronavirus evacuees land in Ontario -report

A plane from Wuhan, China carrying an initial group of 176 Canadian evacuees from the coronavirus epidemic landed at Trenton air force base in Ontario early on Friday, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported link.

A second group, who left China on a U.S. flight, should arrive later on Friday after switching planes in Vancouver, Canada's foreign minister told reporters on Thursday. All evacuees will be quarantined on the base for two weeks, separated from each other in a building that resembles a small hotel, with families kept together.

One evacuee, Edward Wang, was promised a seat on the U.S. plane along with his mother, also a Canadian citizen. He is eager to be back in Canada and nervous about the lack of hospital beds in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak that has killed more than 600. "You imagine things like this happening in war zones," he said, speaking before the flights left. "It feels so surreal."

While most of the passengers are Canadian citizens because of rules set by the Chinese government, Canadian authorities said that some permanent residents would be allowed on board to accompany minors. A second Canadian flight is scheduled to leave Wuhan on Feb. 10, Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Thursday.

Canada was hit hard by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus, and health authorities are working to contain the new virus. As of Thursday afternoon, five cases had been confirmed in Canada. The country has told citizens not to travel to Hubei province, and to avoid non-essential travel to the rest of China.

 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)