Coronavirus: first Canadian evacuees from Wuhan arrive in Canada
- Aircraft carrying 176 passengers landed at Trenton air force base east of Toronto, while US plane with 39 Canadians on board landed in Vancouver
- None of the passengers show sign of infection; evacuees will be quarantined for 14 days
A plane bringing home the first Canadians from Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, landed on Friday at a Canadian military base, where the evacuees will be quarantined.
The government-chartered aircraft landed at Trenton air force base east of Toronto at around 6.30am, after a refuelling stopover in Vancouver. It carried 176 passengers.
Another American plane with 39 Canadians on board also landed in Vancouver, officials said. Those passengers were to take a connecting government flight to Trenton later in the day.
Several countries including the United States and France have already repatriated their citizens from Wuhan. Canada’s airlift took longer to be approved by Chinese authorities.
The group of Canadians, permanent residents and a handful of Chinese nationals with visas who accompanied Canadian minors on the flight will remain at the Trenton base for 14 days, the incubation period for the illness.