COVID-19: Quarantine periods for some Canadians at CFB Trenton coming to an end Friday

Quarantine periods for Canadians who were repatriated amid the spread of COVID-19 in China are coming to an end.

Canadians who arrived at the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ont., on Feb. 7 will see their quarantine period end on Friday, according to an emailed statement from Health Canada on Thursday evening.

The 14-day quarantine period for those who arrived at the base on Feb. 11 is “anticipated” to end on Feb. 25.

The government can provide transport to Toronto Pearson International Airport “to help facilitate their return home.” People can also arrange to be picked up in Trenton.

While it is unclear when exactly the repatriated Canadians will leave the base, everyone will leave with a “travel plan” and arrangements to follow up with their local public health agencies.

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“We are not able to confirm specific timing of departure from CFB Trenton,” a spokesperson for Health Canada said in the statement.

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“Each repatriated Canadian will leave CFB Trenton with a travel plan and appropriate follow-ups with local public health agencies.”

Health Canada says it is working with local partners to help support their return to their respective local communities.

“We need to ensure that they are treated with respect, and cared for after a stressful and uncertain period in China, followed by a long journey home and time at CFB Trenton.”

The base in Trenton has housed Canadians who were airlifted from Wuhan, the city in China where the virus was first detected. So far none of the evacuees and their families have developed any symptoms of COVID-19.

A Calgary man who is finishing up his 14-day quarantine period on Friday told Global News that the experience was mentally trying.

“I wasn’t prepared for that,” Carter Perrier said in an interview. “The nurses, about a week in, started asking, ‘How is your mental health?’ We have resources here available to us if we were struggling with that.”

Eventually, Perrier developed a routine, with nurse visits twice a day to check for any symptoms. He hopes to return to Calgary by Friday evening, he said.

The Trenton base is expected to screen the Canadian passengers of the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship before they enter a 14-day quarantine period at the NAV Canada facility in Cornwall, Ont. That charter plane is expected to land around 1:30 a.m. ET on Friday.

— With files by The Canadian Press, Global News reporter Julia Wong

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