Departing from Wuhan about fifteen hours earlier to flee the coronavirus, some 180 people, mostly French, arrived Friday afternoon in the holiday center of the seaside resort of Carry-le-Rouet, near Marseille, where they will stay confined for two weeks.
After leaving the epicenter of the new coronavirus epidemic, the passengers - including three AFP journalists - applauded the landing of their aircraft on French soil in Istres, shortly before 12:30 p.m. Around 3:30 p.m., the first of the buses transporting them entered the residence where they will be placed in quarantine.
One of the passengers who presented “symptoms” of a coronavirus infection on the plane was transferred upon landing at the Timone hospital in Marseille, announced the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn, during a press conference at Marignane airport. In France, six cases of infection have so far been detected by the authorities.
Upon their arrival at the military base of Istres (Bouches-du-Rhône), the passengers, mostly French, and some foreigners, including Chinese spouses of French, had been greeted on the tarmac by Mrs. Buzyn. About ten meters from them, behind a ribbon, she assured that she would have liked to shake their hand, but that circumstances prevented her.
"We made sure that the reception conditions in Wuhan ... in Carry-le-Rouet, will be up to your relief," the minister told them, her slip sparking a few laughs. "All the French are waiting for you [...] Rest, welcome back to French soil," she said.
The Minister also clarified that outside visits would be prohibited when they are confined in the vacation center but that they could receive packages.
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In Carry-le-Rouet, the Club Vacanciel, surrounded by a large pine forest, is located in a cove accessible only by a narrow dead end road prohibited by the small seaside resort of 5,800 inhabitants, about thirty kilometers from Marseille.
About 80 health reservists, "taking turns in teams", will be mobilized in the center, "for a period of two weeks renewable once," said an order published overnight Thursday to Friday.
During their period of isolation, returnees will be subject to medical surveillance to ensure that they are not infected with the virus.
Measures that did not reassure all residents of Carry-le-Rouet on Friday. Two days before the start of the "sea urchin" festival, which according to him represents "1/3 of the turnover of traders", Cédric Gleyot, strolling on the seaside, plague: "Now it's carrynovirus! ".