The evacuation flight is only open to Canadian passport holders – permanent residents and Chinese citizens are not eligible

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

As an airplane chartered by the Canadian government departs central China on Thursday, hundreds of evacuees will breathe a sigh of relief as they leave Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

But others with close ties to Canada will remain trapped in the quarantined city: the evacuation flight is only open to Canadian passport holders. Permanent residents and Chinese citizens are not eligible for a seat, unless they are the primary caregiver of a child on the flight manifest.

Quick guide What are coronavirus symptoms and should I go to a doctor? Show Hide What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic. What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes? According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment. About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19. In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

a new continuous cough - this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough? Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

Among those stranded are Canadian permanent residents Danni Luo and her eight-year-old daughter Qinlin Li, who travelled to Wuhan on 19 January to celebrate Chinese lunar new year with family.

“They’re not on that airplane. And I have no indication from the Canadian government that they will be on any airplane ever,” said Luo’s husband Monte Gisborne, speaking from the family home in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Monte Gisborne, Danni Luo and Qinlin Li in happier times. Photograph: Handout

Gisborne said he feared the virus was “closing in” on his family.

“Their neighbours are dying. My wife’s mother’s best friend has died of the coronavirus,” he said. “There are reported infections in the buildings around them. It’s like everything is closing in on them.”

Canada will send a second flight to help those unable to board the first plane on 10 February, and the United States has also offered seats on an evacuation flight later on Thursday. But it remained unclear if the offers will be open to non-citizens.

Luo and Li initially planned to return home on 15 February. But as news of the virus spread and panic seized the city, Luo changed their tickets to 28 January as a precautionary measure.

Days later, however, Chinese authorities shut down transportation to and from the city, rendering the tickets useless.

Gisborne said he had struggled to get answers from Canadian officials as he waits for his wife and daughter to return. “I’m so frustrated. I’m so fed up with this lack of communication, lack of planning, lack of direction.”

Wayne Duplessis and Emily Tjandra, who work as teachers in Wuhan, initially welcomed news an aircraft would be taking Canadians out of the locked-down city.

But they soon realized an evacuation would separate their family. Duplessis and his 15-year-old son Wyatt are Canadian citizens; Emily and her older son Adryan, 38, are not.

As they weighed their options, Duplessis said that advice from Canadian officials often arrived too late to be of use.

“By the time I got the most recent details about the evacuation flight, people were already at the airport,” he said. “I don’t mean to be judgmental … but there are people here that need help – and they need some clear answers.”

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With roads shut down and no private cars or taxis on the road, just reaching the airport is a logistical challenge, he said.

Further complicating matters is that Adryan, also a teacher, is trapped on the other side of the city at one of the school’s campuses.

Because of the uncertainty, Duplessis and his wife have decided to stay in Wuhan.

The family is “relatively comfortable”, with access to food and water in the high-rise apartment, he said.

“Normally, there’s just so much humanity here. It’s wonderful,” he said. “But you’re not seeing that any more. It’s empty. The only reminder there are even people around you is at night, when their lights are turned on.”