Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
National

Charter Plane Carrying Canadian Citizens Takes Off From Wuhan For Canada

The Canadian Press, 06 Feb, 2020 09:30 PM

    OTTAWA - A charter plane carrying Canadian citizens home from the centre of the global novel coronavirus outbreak has begun its journey home.

     

    "The plane is wheels up," Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a tweet Thursday afternoon after the evacuation flight organized by the federal government departed from Wuhan, the city in central China where the outbreak originated.

     

    The flight is slated to stop to refuel in Vancouver before heading to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, where it is expected to land early Friday.

     

    All evacuees from Wuhan will then spend 14 days under quarantine on the military base in southern Ontario.

     

    They will be monitored to see if they have contracted the virus.

     

    Canadian officials have documented five cases of coronavirus in the country so far.

     

    They say the quarantine is necessary to ensure the virus doesn't spread further.

     

    The plane was originally due to take off on Wednesday, but was delayed due to bad weather.

     

    About 50 more Canadian passengers are expected to leave China on board a United States government flight scheduled to depart later today.

     

    The federal government has also chartered a second flight to bring more Canadians home next week.

     

    Champagne said that flight is scheduled to leave Wuhan, a city of 11 million people under quarantine, on Feb. 10.

     

    It is expected to arrive at CFB Trenton the next day, where its passengers will also be under mandatory quarantine for two full weeks.

     

    "I think it's a good thing because everybody who wants to depart will have a third chance to come back to Canada," Champagne said Thursday in Ottawa.

     

    The government had secured space for 211 passengers on the first flight, but Champagne said a number of them did not go to the airport.

     

    "As expected, we had a small number of no-shows at the airport, mostly related to individuals who changed their minds at the last minute," he said.

     

    Champagne said anyone who decided to stay behind would continue to receive consular assistance.

     

    The federal government has not yet confirmed how many passengers ended up on the flight.

     

    "About two-thirds of Canadians seeking to leave Wuhan will have left for Canada," Champagne said.

     

    More than 300 people have asked for Ottawa's help getting out of the city.

     

    Myriam Larouche, a 25-year-old student from Quebec who is in Wuhan, said the flight began to board just past midnight Friday local time.

     

    Kate Schellenberg said she received a text message from her twin brother Michael as he was waiting to board. He is set to leave China with his wife Summer Wu and their one-year-old son Felix.

     

    He told her that he could see the plane, and people wearing yellow hazmat suits.

     

    Global Affairs Canada had advised passengers to expect delays, noting that Chinese authorities would be performing health screening and immigration controls before people were allowed to board.

     

    "The check-in experience will be significantly different to what you may be used to," said an email, obtained by The Canadian Press.

     

    "We ask for your understanding and patience."

     

    The new coronavirus has sickened more than 28,000 and killed 563 in China since the outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization in December.

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    New School Sites For Surrey’s Redwood Heights And South Newton Neighbourhoods

    Government is making record investments in B.C. schools to give every student the best learning experience possible. In two and a half years, the Province has approved nearly $1.8 billion in school capital investments, creating almost 11,000 new student seats and 24,000 seismically safe seats.

    New School Sites For Surrey’s Redwood Heights And South Newton Neighbourhoods

    Shopify’s Expansion In Vancouver Shows B.C.’s Resilient Economy: NDP

    Michelle Mungall, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness, has issued the following statement in response to Shopify’s expansion in Vancouver:

    Shopify’s Expansion In Vancouver Shows B.C.’s Resilient Economy: NDP

    Details On New Federal Daycare Spending Coming In Budget, Minister Says

    OTTAWA - Canada's minister in charge of federal efforts to expand child care says funding to create 250,000 before- and after-school spaces will be on top of $7.5 billion in already planned spending.    

    Details On New Federal Daycare Spending Coming In Budget, Minister Says

    Trump Signs New USMCA Bill Into Law, Clearing Way For Commons Debate

    Trump Signs New USMCA Bill Into Law, Clearing Way For Commons Debate
    WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump signed off Wednesday on the new road map for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, clearing the way for the House of Commons to debate the merits of the next era of North American trade.    

    Trump Signs New USMCA Bill Into Law, Clearing Way For Commons Debate

    Canadians Seek Way Out Of Wuhan As Coronavirus Continues To Spread

    More than 120 Canadians in Wuhan have asked the Canadian government to help bring them home.

    Canadians Seek Way Out Of Wuhan As Coronavirus Continues To Spread

    Canada Preparing Plane To Fly Canadians From Wuhan, Once China Gives OK

    Canada Preparing Plane To Fly Canadians From Wuhan, Once China Gives OK
    Canada has a plane preparing to fly Canadians out of the province in China at the centre of an outbreak of a new coronavirus, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday.

    Canada Preparing Plane To Fly Canadians From Wuhan, Once China Gives OK