2 Fijian students arrive at Auckland in chartered Air NZ flight from coronavirus hit Wuhan in China

2 Fijian students arrive at Auckland in chartered Air NZ flight from coronavirus hit Wuhan in China

By Semi Turaga
06/02/2020
Ground staff at Auckland Airport check evacuees from Wuhan. [Photo: Daniel Ou Yang/NZHerald]

Two Fijian students were part of the 193 people that arrived in a chartered Air New Zealand flight last night at Auckland Airport from coronavirus-hit Wuhan in China.

The passenger list included 70 New Zealanders, 35 Australian citizens and 12 Australian permanent residents on Chinese passports, eight people are British, 17 from both Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea, five are from Samoa, four from Tonga, two from Fiji and one from each of Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Holland and Uzbekistan.

residents-welcome-evacuees-from-wuhan-in-auckland-sm
Locals welcome evacuees from Wuhan to the Tamaki Leadership Centre on Whangaparaoa. Photo: Chris Tarpey

All people that were on the flight except for Australian citizens have been placed in quarantine for 14 days in an isolated defence force training base in Whangaparāoa in North Auckland.

Bus-with-evacuees-from-wuhan-flight-at-auckland-airport-sm1
A bus leaves Auckland Airport with evacuees from Wuhan. Photo: Dean Purcell

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health says at the site, people will receive daily medical checks, be able to work remotely, and education needs for children will be provided.

Catering would be maintained by commercial contractors.

It says once home, after the quarantine period, returnees will have to isolate themselves for a further two weeks.

Welcome-home-nz-sm
Locals welcome evacuees from Wuhan to the Tamaki Leadership Centre on Whangaparaoa after their flight back from Wuhan. Photo: Chris Tarpey

The New Zealand Herald reports the Australian passengers were transferred directly to a flight to Australia last night.

Bus-with-evacuees-from-wuhan-flight-at-auckland-airport-sm
Buses leave Auckland Airport with evacuees from Wuhan. Photo:Dean Purcell

Common coronavirus symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Experts are unsure of whether the virus is able to transmit before symptoms appear or after. If it worsens it can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure or even death.

The virus can be spread from animals to people. But it also can be spread by coughing, sneezing and through close contact with an infected person or an object carrying the virus. Experts are still figuring out how long an infected person is contagious as they try to determine a point of transmission.

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