The second cohort of Wuhan evacuees has arrived into quarantine on Christmas Island.
Thirty-five Australian citizens and permanent residents landed on the remote island territory just before 5am Thursday.
The group, which included 13 children and infants, had been travelling for 28 hours, flying from Wuhan to Auckland, before boarding an A319 jet which flew to Brisbane, then Exmouth and, finally, Western Australia.
The group touched down just before sunrise on Christmas Island, walking on to buses waiting on the tarmac which drove straight from the airport. All were wearing masks.
Some appeared tired while others waved as the buses were escorted away.
The second cohort of Wuhan evacuees has arrived on Christmas Island to begin a 14-day quarantine period. They landed shortly before 5am having flown Wuhan to Auckland to Brisbane to Exmouth to Christmas Island. pic.twitter.com/TL5NxbuVNf
— Ben Doherty (@BenDohertyCorro) February 5, 2020
The group will join 241 Australians already in quarantine in the island’s immigration detention centre in the island’s north-west. But it appears likely this group will be the last evacuee cohort sent to Christmas Island, with the detention centre nearing capacity for the isolation needed for quarantine.
The new group of evacuees will be kept separate from those already in the centre, who have already begun their 14-day quarantine period. Inside the centre, evacuees are being isolated from each other in small communal and family groups so that any potential outbreaks can be contained.
One evacuee Guardian Australia spoke to said conditions inside the centre were fine, but those evacuated were tired and were ready to go home. Outside their compounds, evacuees are required to wear masks; inside their rooms they can take them off.
“It is fine here, but I’m very tired. There is not much to do in here.”
Another evacuee, a nurse, said he had grown increasingly worried as the spread of the disease worsened in Wuhan, and he was relieved to bring his young family back to Australia.
There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus emerging among any of those evacuated from Wuhan.
The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, the government was considering using other locations – away from population centres – as quarantine facilities.
“There are isolated mining camps or the prospect of hotels that you could take over,” he said. “But I think we’ll look at all of those in order of what we think is the best response, but all of this is in the spirit of preparation.”
