Xiaobo Wang has spent the past week in isolation in his southwest Calgary home — and he plans to remain there for another week.

The mechanical engineer recently returned from a trip to the Chinese province of Henan. There’s no indication that Wang has contracted the novel coronavirus — the respiratory disease that has infected about 35,000 worldwide, including seven Canadians — but he’s one of more than 100 Calgarians recently returned home from China who are voluntarily quarantining themselves for two weeks as a precautionary measure.

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“So far, it’s so good. There’s been no indication of symptoms so far,” said Wang. “This is a precaution because I travelled to the airport and I crossed paths with a lot of people.

“It’s a way to protect yourself and protect our society.”

For help obtaining groceries and sanitary supplies, Wang got in touch over social media with members of the Chinese-Calgarian community who have offered to assist those in isolation. More than 150 volunteers are helping deliver food, co-ordinate airport pickups and sanitize spaces used by Calgarians who have recently returned from China, says Crystal Shi, who started the initiative.

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“The Chinese community, they don’t want the virus to be spread in Canada and they want to protect everyone around them, including their co-workers, so they don’t just want to come home and go out right away,” Shi said. “But sometimes they need help, so we want to help them self-isolate.

“When I started the group, I didn’t know if anyone was going to want to help, but it was amazing seeing how many people wanted to help out,” Shi said, adding that volunteers are assisting quarantined Calgarians in all corners of the city.

Photo by Jim Wells / Postmedia

Alberta chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw reiterated Thursday that the risk of contracting the coronavirus in Alberta is low and that there have been no confirmed cases in the province. However, she recommended that those who had recently been to China’s Hubei province — the epicentre of the outbreak — isolate themselves at home for 14 days after leaving the region. The two-week quarantine period is chosen because it is the coronavirus’s incubation period.

Calgarians at large should understand why people who have recently visited China are quarantining themselves, the group said.

“Some people are worried about whether if they self-quarantined, if they would lose their job,” said volunteer Cynthia Shi, who is unrelated to Crystal. “Employers should support them, and at least give them two weeks of unpaid leave. That’s a contribution to society for the benefit of everyone.”

And just because someone of Chinese descent is isolating themselves or is wearing a face mask in public, it doesn’t mean they have coronavirus or pose a risk of spreading the virus, the group stressed.

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“A lot of folks choose to wear masks, and that’s not because they are sick. It’s because they want to take precautions,” said volunteer Christine Xiao. “Hopefully people are not being scared of us or misunderstanding this gesture. These people are not sick. There’s no confirmed or even presumed cases in Alberta.

“But people coming from China are stepping up and being responsible citizens. They’re doing this completely voluntarily.”

The group also discouraged people from referring to the coronavirus as the “China virus,” saying such a designation is hurtful and racist.