VANCOUVER—Last Thursday, a plane chartered by the U.S. government to evacuate people from the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak touched down at the Vancouver International Airport to refuel.

Edward Wang and the other Canadians on board stepped off.

“I got off and could literally see my home,” the Richmond, B.C., resident said. “And smell the fresh Vancouver air.”

But the familiarity of home was short lived. The Canadians on the flight changed planes for their next destination — Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario, and the 14-day quarantine that awaited them.

Four days have passed since about 215 Canadians on two different flights checked in for their stint at CFB Trenton’s Yukon Lodge, a hotel used by the military that is located on the base. A third plane is expected at the base Tuesday, where passengers travelling back to Canada from Wuhan, where the virus was first discovered, will also pass two weeks in quarantine.

The 14 days corresponds to the maximum incubation period and the risk of contracting novel coronavirus is still considered low in Canada — there are seven total confirmed cases across the country. About 70 to 80 more people who have been in the area around Wuhan in the last two weeks are entering Canada every day, following advice to get on commercial flights back to the country if they can, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Those individuals are being asked to self-quarantine for two weeks in their homes.

So what can hundreds of civilians do on a Canadian Forces base for two weeks, especially when contact between quarantined individuals is discouraged?

They may not have all the comforts of home, but the quarantined Canadians report being well provided for at CFB Trenton, located about 200 kilometres east of Toronto.

Warm parkas and insulated gloves were handed out by the Red Cross for those whose available clothing was suited more to a mild Wuhan winter than a snowy Canadian one.

For Myriam Larouche, a 25-year-old student from L’Ascension, Que., who lived and studied in Wuhan for five months before the evacuation, that was the perfect sign that she was back in her home country.

“I missed snow so much,” she said Monday, on the fifth day of the quarantine.

In videos she sent to the Star, a small pileup of the white stuff could be seen out the window of her bedroom at the Yukon Lodge, and surrounding the parking lot where she goes to walk around and get some fresh air.

The quarantined Canadians were told to wear surgical masks when they do this, in case they are infected with the novel coronavirus and at risk of exposing others.

The area around the lodge offered a view of mostly low concrete, buildings and bare trees.

With the right attitude, it made for a pleasant walk.

“Finally, outside getting some fresh air. I’m not the only one doing it today,” Larouche said in a video sent to the Star.

“It’s a beautiful day today. It’s not too cold. It’s not too sunny, but it’s perfect.”

The quarantined individuals were given plastic bags with face masks and gloves, which they’ve been asked to wear whenever they leave their rooms. They also got enough toiletries and laundry detergent for their two-week stay.

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The rooms are simply appointed — but functional — and each person has their own bathroom. They have televisions to watch TV and movies — Larouche’s favourite movie she’s seen since being quarantined is “Akeelah and the Bee,” which she caught on TV. The rooms are also outfitted with desks, where Larouche has been keeping up with her homework despite leaving the city where her university is located.

She said the food on the base has been all right. Officials bring meal boxes to her room containing a hot main course and some snacks.

On Monday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said the Public Health Agency of Canada was working with those quarantined and the provinces they’re from to figure out how to get them back home.

Some, like Edward Wang, are still a five-hour flight from where they live, despite being back in the country. Others are Canadian citizens who have been living in China a long time, Tam said, and that can make it complicated to determine what their next destination will be.

Tam said it is still the plan to lift the quarantine for passengers from the first two evacuation flights after 14 days at CFB Trenton.

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