Coronavirus: Evacuees tell of their relief at leaving Wuhan, heart of outbreak zone

Australians behind the wire at Christmas Island have told of their relief at escaping the heart of the coronavirus epidemic.

Evacuees at the Christmas Island centre on Wednesday. Picture: Colin Murty

Australians behind the wire at Christmas Island’s immigration detention centre turned quarantine station have told of their relief at escaping the heart of the corona­virus epidemic.

Brisbane couple John Andrews, 74, and Elizabeth Su, 64, were partway through a 2½-month holiday in Wuhan when the coronavirus spread from an animal market.

Mr Andrews said he and Ms Su were “very happy” to be able to cut their trip short by boarding a Qantas­ rescue flight that delivered 238 Australian citizens and residents to Christmas Island via the RAAF’s Learmonth airbase in Western Aus­tralia.

Australian Border Force was preparing for the arrival on Thursday of 35 more evacuees via New Zealand.

While one evacuee sent reporters a photo of a cockroach at the Christmas Island detention centre and said she was concerned about poor hygiene, Mr Andrews said he and Ms Su had no complaints about conditions in the high-­security facility in a jungle clearing.

“I only hear one person (complaining),” he told reporters through three high metal fences.

Professor Yan Zhang is documenting life on Christmas Island. Picture: Paige Taylor.

Australian father of two Yan Zhang, a professor of artificial intelligen­ce at Western Sydney University, is documenting life in quarantine on Christmas Island with a Sony A6600 and an iPhone 10. Professor Zhang, 57, said he had been passing the time reading Bill Bryson’s In A Sunburned Country and writing a research paper.

He photographed his army-prepared breakfast, evacuees doing their morning exercise and the newly painted “Welcome to Christmas Island” mural that greeted tired evacuees inside the entrance to the detention centre. It was painted by local artist ­Vanessa Bennett as part of prepar­ations for the evacuees, whose beds have new mattresses. “Staff here are very friendly, nice,” Professor Zhang told The Australian in an online message. “I’m very calm, reading book during­ the night, doing my university research during the day and doing photography in the morning.”

A typical breakfast, prepared by Australian Defence Force personnel, is baked beans, sausage and scrambled egg. Picture: Supplied.

Professor Yan Zhang says the camp rules are that everyone must wear face masks outdoors but they can take them off in their rooms. Picture: Supplied. .

Professor Zhang has a room to himself; families share. Profes­sor Zhang said he was concerned to see some people talking to each other at a close distance.

“I’m worry for passing infections if one of them has the virus,” he told The Australian.

Professor Zhang, 57, said he also felt for children at the centre who may be finding quarantine difficult. “I hear some children cries,” he said.

Evacuees doing morning exercise, wearing face masks. Picture: Supplied.

He has twin daughters in Melbourne and his wife is waiting for him in Penrith, western Sydney.

Born in Wuhan and an Australian resident since 1990, Professor Zhang was on a university sabbatical when he arrived at Huazhong University of Science and Tech­nology in Wuhan on January 7.

He had intended to come home on January 29 but said that became­ impossible after “the lockdown” on January 23.

The Australian has been told the two evacuees who arrived at the Christmas Island detention centre on Tuesday who were tested for coronavirus “as a precaution” had been found to have only common colds. Evacuees are screened daily in their rooms by medics from the Australian Medical Assistance Team.

One evacuee, a Brisbane nurse named Daniel, expressed his relief at being able to bring his young family back to Australia.

Additional reporting: Heidi Han