Canadian citizens and permanent residents airlifted from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, have settled in to life under quarantine at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario.
The 290-room Yukon Lodge, about 170 kilometres east of Toronto, was built for military personnel and their family members. But for the next two weeks, it will host the hundreds of people who were evacuated from China.
“I’m getting used to it,” said Myriam Larouche, a 25-year-old graduate student from L’Ascension, Que., about life under quarantine.
WATCH: Myriam Larouche on life under quarantine
Canadian graduate student Myriam Larouche gives a tour of the room she is staying in while under quarantine at Yukon Lodge on CFB Trenton. 0:55
Larouche landed at Trenton on Friday in the first of two groups. The first, with 174 evacuees, was a plane chartered by the Canadian government. The second, which carried 39 Canadians out of Wuhan, was an American flight.
Another Canadian plane is now on its way to pick up others who have asked to return from China.
The rooms for evacuees at the Yukon Lodge are typical hotel rooms, with basic furniture, bathrooms, TVs and WiFi. Staff deliver drinks and hot Canadian Forces-issued boxed meals to the rooms.
Watch: Kai Huang gives a tour of his room
Ottawa resident Kai Huang gives a tour of the room he and his mother are staying in while under quarantine at Yukon Lodge on CFB Trenton. 0:42
There are laundry facilities on site and, to the surprise of some, the guests are allowed to venture outside into a restricted area for exercise and fresh air.
They’re even allowed to interact with other evacuees, although they’ve been told to stay at least two metres away from each other and to avoid physical contact.
“It’s just so good to have human interaction,” said Larouche. “Finally, I get to see another person who is in the same situation as me.”
Public health officials provide health checks at least once a day, she said
WATCH: Kai Huang describes the food at Yukon Lodge
Ottawa resident Kai Huang describes the food provided to people quarantined at a motel on CFB Trenton. 0:51
Larouche says the quarantine is similar to what she experienced in China, although the main difference is that there is clear communication from Canadian officials and an end in sight.
“In China I didn’t have any answers. I didn’t know for how long it was going to be. I didn’t know what would happen after,” she said.
“Now I’m here, I know that it’s only 14 days. I know that I have people taking care of me. I know what’s going to happen after.”
Kai Huang, an Ottawa resident who returned with his 78-year-old mother, said the room he is staying in is comfortable. His temperature is being checked regularly.
“We feel very good,” Huang, 50, said. “We feel safe in their care.”
Less than a week ago, Huang was concerned if his mother would make it back to Canada. Neither Huang nor his mother, a permanent resident, were on the list of evacuees for the first flight. But they both got on the second, U.S.-chartered flight.
Now, he said he spends his days communicating with people on WeChat and listening for news from Wuhan.
When Huang leaves his room, he wears a mask. He also keeps his distance from the other evacuees.
WATCH: Myriam Larouche and other evacuees outside on CFB Trenton
Canadian graduate student Myriam Larouche describes her experience spending time outside the Yukon Lodge while under quarantine with hundreds of others evacuated from Wuhan, China. 0:19
Being with his mother makes quarantine easier, Huang said, but it’s difficult being away from his wife and two children.
The whole experience, from being under lockdown to being in quarantine, is a life experience he’ll never forget, he said.
“In 12 days, we will see my wife, my daughter, my son,” he said. “And our life will be back to normal.”
Huang said the first thing he’ll do once he gets home to Ottawa is shovel snow. But before that, Huang said he plans to hug and kiss his family before taking them to dinner.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
