ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A Chinese-born man in St. John’s says he is voluntarily isolating himself for the next two weeks after returning on the last Air Canada flight out of China, and he is and offering to help others who wish to do the same.
Kevin Zhao was born in Tai’an, a city about 460 kilometres south of Beijing.
Zhao was on the last plane out of St. John’s before the Jan. 17 blizzard hit, to visit his family in China for the Lunar New Year celebrations.
On Jan. 22, after four days in Beijing, Zhao left his hotel and was stopped by security in the area, who suggested he put on a mask to protect him from potential spread of the coronavirus. He says he wasn’t worried about the virus, but things changed quickly.
He says he got on a bus and noticed a sharp increase in the amount of people wearing a mask.
“Over half the people in one day start wearing the mask, even the military,” he said.
“All the security people were wearing the mask. At that point, I think it’s getting serious.”
By Jan. 26, the situation continued to escalate. Roads in and out of Beijing were shut down as of Jan. 23, with smaller cities nearby following suit.
“It’s getting difficult to get in and out,” he said.
“My father suggested there’s no reason to stay in China any longer. It’s getting dangerous and you can’t do anything, so I decided to go back to Canada early.”
On Jan. 26, Zhao called Air Canada to change his flight out of China to Jan. 30. On Jan. 29, Air Canada took things a step further and announced it was cancelling all direct flights between China and Canada.
Zhao ended up on the last plane to Canada out of China, and arrived in St. John’s after a stop in Toronto early Friday morning.
The Chinese community in St. John’s use the social media app WeChat to connect, with one group created for the entire Chinese population in the province. In that group, Zhao says, there were calls for isolation.
Zhao says at first, he was surprised by the call for him to separate himself from the rest of society — he’s young and healthy, and wore a mask consistently while in China. But Zhao says a sense of duty took over.
“After doing all the research and speaking to elders, I put my emotions aside. I thought, this is right. You need to go through the quarantine, to stay away from the public. It’s your responsibility to not share the risk,’” he said.
“The risk is very small, but there is a risk.”
Despite there being no reported cases of coronavirus in Newfoundland and Labrador, and only four confirmed cases in Canada to date, Zhao says there is a sense of duty within the local Chinese population to protect others from any potential exposure.
Zhao owns property in St. John’s with enough room for eight people to stay in their own spaces, with private washrooms. So far, Zhao and his roommate are the only ones living in isolation in the building, but he says there are four to six other people who could join him soon.
“I said, OK if I were in the same situation and there’s a rumour online, people are asking to put the people who travelled from China to Canada in segregation, why don’t I just offer this service free of charge?” said Zhao.
“It’s very hard for some to go to a hotel. It’s not cost efficient, and also it’s hard for people to provide support. My apartment can fit the need.”
Zhao says the community has even worked out a system to keep everyone fed. Zhao says he and the other person in isolation have been able to send messages through WeChat telling community members what supplies they need to get by.
"Even this morning, they delivered food, meat and vegetables, and put it outside the door. They sent a message, I open the door and I could get the food," he said.
Zhao says he's hopeful the sacrifice he's making will help keep people safe.
"We're just trying to do what is right," he said.
"To provide support to those in need."
MUN taking precautions.
Elsewhere, Memorial University says while the public health risk associated with the coronavirus virus remains low, anyone who has travelled to the Hubei region of China and develops symptoms like fever, a cough or difficulty breathing should check with their doctor as soon as possible.
Health Canada recommends washing hands with soap and water for at least 30 seconds as often as possible, avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, avoid contact with anyone who is sick, stay home when sick, cover the mouth when sneezing or coughing, and clean and disinfect surfaces as much as possible.
MUN’s advisory says these are good strategies for avoiding the flu in general, but can also help people avoid the coronavirus.
