New coronavirus deaths spike as second planeload of Canadian evacuees return home

By Kurtis Doering

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A second charter plane carrying Canadian evacuees from the epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak has touched down at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in southern Ontario.

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the 185 people who had been in Wuhan, China will kept at the base for 14 days and monitored for symptoms.

The group joins the 213 people who have been quarantined there since Friday. One of them — Myriam Larouche from Quebec — describes the experience as being a bit like summer camp.

Related video: Quarantine life at CFB Trenton

Meanwhile, quarantine is ending on Tuesday in Riverside County, California for the 195 American diplomats and their families who were aboard the first evacuation flight from Wuhan.

The county health department says none of the people leaving isolation developed coronavirus. It has also sent a letter to people in the community telling them to not retaliate against the workers who cared for them out of fear of the virus.

The United States has now recorded its 13th case of the new coronavirus. The patient arrived from China on the first evacuation flight to a military base in San Diego, and is said to be doing well.

Locally, the number of confirmed cases in B.C. remains at four. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is expected to provide an update in Vancouver at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Worldwide, there are now more than 43,000 cases of the new coronavirus, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths. The vast majority of the sick are in China, which recorded 108 virus deaths on Monday, the highest single-day figure so far.

While health officials have stressed that the risk of contracting the virus in B.C. remains low, fears of the growing outbreak have reportedly led one Richmond family to keep their daughter away from school for two weeks because some of her classmates may have recently returned from China.

South of the border, Chinese restaurant owners are reporting a significant drop in business over the last few weeks. One in New York City’s Chinatown says her business has dropped by about 50 per cent.

-With files from The Canadian Press

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today