“We all hope to meet in China, and even in Wuhan, for the next Chinese New Year. It would be a beautiful symbol. "Leaving this Friday, February 14 in the morning, from the holiday center of Carry-le-Rouet (Bouches-du-Rhône), near Marseille, where he spent fourteen days in quarantine, Charles Germain, one of the Wuhan's first returnees following the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, is all smiles.
"We are going to find our normal lives, our loved ones, without any risk of contaminating anyone," he enthuses. His Chinese wife is not with him. She preferred to stay in Wuhan with her parents. A friend came to pick him up in Carry-le-Rouet. Of the 181 people repatriated to France who were able to go out on Friday, around 30, like this toy merchant, were recovered by relatives.
The others were driven by bus from 6.30 am and until the early afternoon to Saint-Charles train station in Marseille and Marseille-Provence airport. “I was on the move in India when the confinement in Wuhan started. It's been a month and a half that I haven't seen my wife and three children, ”impatiently in the parking lot Jérôme, employee of an automotive supplier who came from Lyon (Rhône) to find his family.
"In this center, it was a bit like Club Med"
“It was long, but we stayed in touch all this time. It's a good sign to see each other again on this Valentine's Day, ”he continues. During all this time, he continued to work from France. "The question now is when will we be able to return to China," he says.
Etienne and Sylviane arrive from Nîmes (Gard) to recover their son, a manager at Peugeot, their daughter-in-law and their 4-year-old grandson. “He was confined for a week and a half in Wuhan before he could return. So the 14 days in Carry, in this center, it was a bit like Club Med, ”they joke. "He was able to continue teleworking, he was never really worried. There, they will return to Paris before being able to return to China. "
VIDEO. The first French returnees come out of quarantine
"There was no problem, we quickly learned that there were no cases of coronavirus among them and we were in contact every day," explains Christian, a resident of Fréjus (Var ). "My son and my daughter-in-law will live with us," he continues, "to see when they can return to Wuhan", a mega-city of 11 million inhabitants at the heart of the coronavirus epidemic.
"Avoid psychosis"
Eric is waiting for him Joan, his Chinese wife, who had gone to see his parents for the Chinese New Year. "We must insist on the fact that the majority of patients recover and avoid psychosis," he enjoins. His wife remained confined for three weeks on the spot before being able to return and having to spend another 14 days in quarantine in Carry. “There, they don't panic, they apply basic hygiene rules. "
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Charles Germain lived his confinement as "an extraordinary human experience". "The returnees put on a surprise show to thank us Thursday evening with a piano, a guitar and a choir," said Marc Zyltman, head of the Red Cross dispatched to the scene. "We did everything to make everything go well: a resident offered haircuts, we organized lessons for the children, and a lot of activities ..."
Forty-four Frenchmen from Wuhan, who arrived by a second plane, are continuing their quarantine until Saturday. The last 35, repatriated Sunday by the British and housed at the National School of Firefighters in Aix-en-Provence, will remain confined until February 23.
The human toll of the epidemic in mainland China amounted to mid-Friday Friday at nearly 64,000 confirmed cases and 1380 deaths. Outside China, including the autonomous regions of Macau and Hong Kong, more than 500 cases and three deaths have been reported in around 30 countries and territories.
