Canadians returning from Wuhan to be quarantined in motel at CFB Trenton

OTTAWA — Health Minister Patricia Hajdu says Canadians returning home from Wuhan will need physical and mental support once they arrive at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, where they will spend two weeks being monitored for the novel coronavirus.

She says many have been facing difficult conditions under lockdown in the central Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak.

The government chose to house then at the military base in southern Ontario in part because there is a motel where people can stay as they are quarantined for 14 days of mandatory observation.

The ordeal at the base may still be challenging, as they are being kept in isolation from one another for the full two weeks.

Hajdu says the Canadians will be offered mental health services in addition to being monitored for symptoms of the coronavirus.

If any of the passengers fro China show symptoms of the virus while they are on the base, they will be transferred to a local hospital for further isolation, observation and treatment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2020.

The Canadian Press