First Australians leave Christmas Island following coronavirus quarantine
After spending two weeks at repurposed detention centre because of coronavirus, Australian families are finally heading home.
Sydney sisters Tina and Anna Wang made fast friends on Christmas Island with five-year-old Aaron Fernandez over the past fortnight.
The three children were among the first group of Australians to leave quarantine on the Australian territory on Monday, and arrived at the island’s airport shortly after 11am AEDT to board a government charter bound for Sydney then Canberra.
Aaron’s mum Isabella Li said the girls — Tina, 12 and Anna, 14 — were protective and kind to her son at the repurposed detention centre. They talked to him and played tennis with him.
“He doesn’t want to leave,” Ms Li said. “He made such good friends here.”
The first Australians to complete quarantine on Christmas Island were evacuated from Wuhan on a special Qantas rescue flight February 3. They have been at the detention centre waiting out the 14-day quarantine period for coronavirus. In that time, three people were tested and none tested positive.
Sydney early childhood educator Li Ping Gu — who wrote an open letter of thanks to Australia from quarantine — said she was overwhelmed by the sacrifices the military and medical staff made to care for her and others trapped in coronavirus-hit Wuhan.
At the Christmas Island airport on Monday, Ms Gu said it felt wonderful to be allowed outside without a face mask on.
“We are all seeing each other’s faces for the first time,” she said.
“It is strange after spending so much time together and now we can actually know what each other looks like.”
Amy Mou and her daughter Coco, 10, said she had everything she needed in quarantine and the two weeks was “better than I expected”. The workers in the detention centre were kind and helpful, she said.
“Coco thinks it was better than school camp,” Ms Mou said.
Several of the Australians going home on Monday told The Australian they were in Wuhan to see family when the city was locked down on January 23.
Some were worried about elderly parents back in Wuhan.
Rafael Athaydes, his wife Kira Huang and their baby Alysia went to Wuhan to celebrate Chinese New Year with Ms Huang’s parents who were now in good health but isolated in their Wuhan apartment block. Mr Athaydes said he was “very relieved” when he and Ms Huang made the flight out to Christmas Island with Alysia.
“I was panicking, especially because of the baby” Mr Athatdes said.
“I was worried in case we had to go to the doctor for any reason.”
The homebound Australians saw the island’s endemic red crabs in the grounds of the detention centre and bought Christmas Island souvenirs at the airport, including red crab soft toys. Island administrator Natasha Griggs, the Federal government’s most senior representative in the Indian Ocean territories, came to the airport to wish the departing Australians well.
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