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Coronavirus: masks of fear cast aside as Christmas Island quarantine ends

Unmasked and free for the first time in weeks, 242 Australians have left quarantine on Christmas Island.

Michelle Zhu, 2, with Major Cameron Elston before the flight. Picture: Colin Murty
Michelle Zhu, 2, with Major Cameron Elston before the flight. Picture: Colin Murty

Unmasked and free for the first time in weeks, 242 Australians have left quarantine on Christmas Island, each with a written declaration from the government’s deputy chief medical officer that they are free of novel coronavirus.

Children who played ­together for 14 days behind the wire of the repurposed immigration detention centre saw each other for the first time without face masks at the Christmas Island airport on ­Monday. It was a far cry from the nerves and exhaustion of February 3, when the first evacuees touched down with little idea of what to expect.

Most had been barricaded in their accommodation in Wuhan since January 23. At the halfway point of the 14-day quarantine period, Sydney early childhood educator Li Ping Gu captured the mood of evacuees with a letter of thanks to Australia.

She wrote: “I am grateful that all the doctors, nurses and soldiers had sacrificed their families, their own safety, in supporting us.”

At Perth airport on Monday night, Chris Mason greeted his wife Catherine and children Isla, 9, and Aaron, 14, with their first family hug in precisely a month.

“It was a big strain being away from them,” Mr Mason, a prison officer, said. Ms Mason said the family would have a two-day holiday in Perth before heading home to Geraldton, where she runs a family daycare centre.

Aaron said the stay on Christmas Island was both an adventure and a nightmare. “A bit of both, I’m glad it’s over,” he said.

Mel Pleno arrived back in Sydney with his wife and three children. He described the stay on Christmas Island as a “unique experience, I never thought I’d find myself in that situation”.

He said the family would have preferred to come straight home “but the priority was to make sure we were medically cleared and we had to do the right thing by the community”.

Amy Mou and daughter Coco are met by friends in Sydney. Picture: Jane Dempster.
Amy Mou and daughter Coco are met by friends in Sydney. Picture: Jane Dempster.

Amy Mou also arrived on the Sydney flight with daughter Coco. She said Christmas Island was “better than I expected”. During the first week, there wasn’t much talking between evacuees but the second week was “more social”.

Many of the Australians who went home had been in Wuhan to mark Chinese New Year with relatives they had to leave ­behind. Among them was Amy Xia, who has lived in Adelaide for 10 years. She flew home from quarantine on Monday with her Australian-born children Louise, 7, and Benjamin, 5. She said she was extremely grateful to get her children out but fretted about her parents in Wuhan.

Catherine Mason with Aaron and Isla in Perth. Picture: Sean Middleton
Catherine Mason with Aaron and Isla in Perth. Picture: Sean Middleton

Property developers Bei Chu and Zaitang Wang had been due to fly home to Sydney on a ­private Gulfstream jet with their two daughters but opted instead to fly on a government charter plane with fellow evacuees.

There were 36 Australian citizens and permanent residents left behind at the island’s detention centre late on Monday. They are due to go home on Wednesday.

Additional reporting: Victoria Laurie, David Ross

Read related topics:Coronavirus

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/coronavirus-masks-of-fear-cast-aside-as-christmas-island-quarantine-ends/news-story/06e5e2752f4ffd14ad7f2d2fb69d2ae6