Coronavirus evacuee’s letter of thanks to Australia
Sydney mother of two Li Ping Gu begins her heartfelt letter of thanks to Australia: ‘This is P24, my evacuation ID number’.
Sydney mother of two Li Ping Gu begins her heartfelt letter of thanks to Australia: “This is P24, my evacuation ID number”.
Ms Gu, 58, has two worried adult children at home on the Australian mainland while she is in quarantine in the monsoonal rainforest on Christmas Island, 430km south of Java.
She assures Sunny, 32, and Shelley, 25, that their mum is being careful. She is not frightened.
Instead, Ms Gu is thinking of the people who rescued her from coronavirus-plagued Wuhan on February 3.
She knows the military personnel who bring her food and the medics who complete her daily health checks at the repurposed immigration detention centre have left their families behind to be locked in quarantine with her and other evacuees for 14 days.
“At the coronavirus quarantine centre on Christmas Island, I have learnt about the great Aussie spirit – caring, and giving everyday.”
Ms Gu wrote in the letter she wants other Australians to see: “I am grateful that all the doctors, nurses, soldiers on Christmas Island had sacrificed their families, their own safety, in supporting us.
“Everyday I am greeted with their lovely smile through their eyes (we can hardly see each other’s face with masks on).”
There are now 544 Australian citizens and permanent residents in quarantine on Christmas Island and in a former workers’ camp on the edge of Darwin.
By late Wednesday, three evacuees have been tested for coronavirus.
They were all at Christmas Island and none from the Howard Springs work camp. The first, a girl, had flu-like symptoms on Friday. The second, a man, had a borderline high temperature on Monday. Their samples were sent to the Department of Microbiology in Westmead, Sydney, and tested negative for coronavirus. A third evacuee was tested using diagnostic tools flown to Christmas Island on an RAAF Hercules on Monday.
That sample tested negative too. It will be sent to the mainland as a way of confirming the result.
Ms Gu was deeply touched when the army delivered a birthday cake to a child turning four in quarantine. She wants her friends to understand the lengths staff go to in order to take care of her and other evacuees.
They have bought in familiar snacks, such as green tea cake and rice crackers.
“They never say ‘no’ to our requests, they just ask for some amount of time to get supplies in here,” Ms Gu wrote.
“They work hard in the centre to let us feel comfortable during our quarantine period, and they are humbled with our appreciation.”
Ms Gu is counting down until her release, scheduled for Monday. She understands the wait might be harder for her children so she tries to cheer them with lighthearted messages.
She sent them the contagion emoji – a masked face – and told them: “I am going to keep my mask on … then back home to reunion with you”.
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