Coronavirus: Inside the Whangaparāoa facility where evacuees will be sent
Wednesday, 5 February 2020
New photos released by the Ministry of Health show what life will be like for Kiwis evacuated from Wuhan due to fears over coronavirus.
The evacuees – including 54 New Zealand citizens and 44 New Zealand permanent residents on Chinese passports – were due to arrive at Auckland International Airport on a special flight on Wednesday evening.
They would then be transferred to a military facility on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula where they would be quarantined for 14 days.
A New Zealand Defence Force source has described the facility as 'very flash'. The mess hall can seat about 200, they said.
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The area is mainly used by the Royal New Zealand Navy for training its recruits and includes live firing and recreation areas.
The Ministry of Health said the facility had been chosen because of its size and location and the fact it had its own medical facilities.
The evacuees would all receive daily medical checks while in isolation, a spokesman said.
'We also want to ensure while people are in isolation, they can continue to maintain as normal a life as possible, despite the circumstances,' he said.
'That might mean people working remotely, meeting education needs for children and providing for leisure activities. Catering will be provided by commercial contractors.'
Outdoor furniture and a play area for children would be provided.
A no-fly zone was in place above the facility.
'People who want to drop parcels off to people in the facility will be asked to drop them at the local police station in Orewa.'
Vodafone – the only mobile network with coverage in the area – had also installed a mobile cell site in Whangaparāoa.
The evacuees would have access to 3G and 4G, a spokeswoman said.
'We will also be distributing prepay SIMs to those who want them.
'This is being done in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the Defence Force.'
A number of foreign nationals were also on the flight, predominantly from the Pacific.
Passengers include those from Papua New Guinea (17 passengers), Timor Leste (17), Samoa (5), Tonga (4), Fiji (2), Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Uzbekistan and the Netherlands (one from each).
Eight British nationals are also on board.
All would be quarantined at the Whangaparāoa facility.
Thirty-five Australian passengers would not be transferred there and would instead be put directly on a flight to Australia.
Novel coronavirus, which is believed to have originated from a live animal market in Wuhan, China, has infected nearly 15,000 people in China, and killed about 300 people.
Kiwis returning from China have been told to self-isolate for two weeks to cover the incubation period of the virus which has so far killed about 360 people, all but 12 in the Hubei region in China.
The first death outside China occurred in the Philippines.