Evacuees settle into quarantine life
Kids have books, puzzles and toys and parents say food is plentiful
It’s now nearly a week since people evacuated from Wuhan began life in quarantine at a Defence Force training base in Whangaparāoa north of Auckland. Last Wednesday, a Government-chartered flight flew 98 New Zealand citizens and permanent residents and 69 foreign nationals from the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.
The death toll from the virus last night stood at 1016, with more than 42,000 confirmed cases reported in China. There are no cases of suspected or confirmed novel coronavirus in New Zealand, the Director General of Health says.
Those in quarantine at the base say things are more settled than in the first days and they’re starting to adapt to the new environment, with plenty of food and daily necessities.
For 7-year-old Ethan, the greatest part of quarantine is that he can play all day and doesn’t have to worry about school and homework.
He said there were books, puzzles, and toys that he could take to the campervan where he and his mum stay. One of his favourite spots was the sandpit.
“It was a little dry so I put in some water, but I guess I put too much water because now it’s so sticky,” he said.
Ethan’s mother, Fenny Qiu, an accountant in Auckland, said her company had been supportive and she was working remotely.
The pair had been supplied with everything they need — shampoo, body wash, face wash, toothpaste, sunblock and antiperspirant, and electric fans to cool the campervan down, Qiu said.
She said there was a wide range of food they could choose from, including some special treats on the Lantern Festival which fell on Saturday. “They supplied us with traditional Chinese food like dumplings and fried noodles and installed lanterns in the kitchen area as well.
“They had the golden coin chocolates in the red packets. I think that was quite thoughtful. You know, it makes everybody feels like it was the Chinese New Year.”
Lily Gao said daily life for herself and her little daughter had been running between the campervan, a dinning hall, a supplies room, the toilet and shower.
Although space was limited in the campervan, she’d tried to keep busy with 2-year-old Elysse.
“I tried to give her different toys, sometimes we read books together. We also take a walk around the safety fence. There are stairs, so we go upstairs and downstairs, upstairs and downstairs to kill time,” she said.
Three months pregnant, Gao has been looked after by the Red Cross staff.
“They invited a midwife to come and see me as well. The midwife provided some pregnancy information which is quite useful at this moment.”
Gao said she felt comfortable at the quarantine centre, although her daughter constantly misses her father and friends.
Gao said she was confident they would be okay because the evacuees were being supportive of each other by communicating online, and she felt safe there.
“They keep a very high standard of hygiene. Every time before we enter each building, we have to sanitise our hands and we can’t touch anything. For example if we need anything from the supplies room, the Red Cross staff will just get it for us.”
Gao said the staff would also limit the number of people in a certain room each time.
People have been asked to stay in their campervans as much as possible, and talk to each other at arm’s length for no more than 15 minutes each time, with a mask on.
A specialist was on site visiting each campervan on Monday, answering any questions people had.
They had the golden coin chocolates in the red packets . . . it makes everybody feels like it was Chinese New Year.
Fenny Qiu, mother