(CNN) -
They may be some of the last people in the world to be affected by the pandemic.
A four-person team of researchers traveled to Kure Atoll, a remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean located more than 2,000 km from Honolulu, Hawaii, in February.
By the time they returned to Hawaii, the world was a different place.
A world devastated by a virus that has decimated businesses, overloaded health systems, and enforced new rules on social distancing and the use of masks.
During the eight months the team spent on the atoll, they had no television, no cell service, and limited Internet access.
Instead, they relied on the occasional emails from friends and family to keep up with the outside world.
"I had definitely heard some things about it," team member Matthew Butschek II, 26, told CNN.
“But among other diseases like SARS and swine flu, I thought, 'It's just this.
Nothing big. '
I really thought it would be over by the time we got home, "he explained.
I was wrong.
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The island is home to thousands of birds ... and no human being
The island is more than 2,000 km from Honolulu.
(Photo courtesy of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources)
Spanning only 10 km or so, Kure Atoll sits on the edge of the uninhabited Leeward Islands.
It is a wildlife sanctuary managed by the Hawaii State Department of Lands and Natural Resources.
And it is home to hundreds of endangered seabirds and seals.
No human lives there.
Each year, the state sends two teams to Kure Atoll on a rotating schedule to conduct research on the island's ecosystem.
The teams help maintain the wildlife sanctuary.
They clean up debris, tend to the many endangered bird species that live in the area, and eliminate the verbesin encelioides (golden crown beard), an invasive plant species that has been wreaking havoc on the atoll.
Matthew Saunter, 35, the most recent team's field leader, has been to the island about nine times.
He said volunteer researchers are drawn to the promise of complete isolation.
"It's like a blob in the middle of the ocean," Saunter told CNN.
“We could receive messages from the outside world two or three times a day.
That can definitely be its appeal, "he said.
His only access to the outside world was a shared email address
The team of four works on Kure Atoll.
(Photo courtesy of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources)
This particular team had hoped to depart for Kure Atoll in March to exchange with the previous team, but they ended up dating earlier, in February.
They also stayed a month later than originally scheduled and were relieved by the next team in late October.
Instead of receiving messages in their personal emails, the team shared an email address that friends and family could use to communicate with them.
It was the only Internet access they had.
"It really felt so far away," Charlie Thomas, an 18-year-old member of the team, told CNN.
I had only seen a few things on the news.
I remember flying to Honolulu (in February) at the same time as another flight from Japan.
Everyone on that plane wore masks, "he says.
From the messages they received from friends and family, the team knew what was going on in the world.
But hearing about a pandemic is very different from experiencing it firsthand.
Therefore, they had no idea what to expect when they returned home.
Social distancing has put a brake on his return
Now, Thomas, the only non-US member of the team, is back with his family in New Zealand's Auckland area, after a 14-day quarantine in a hotel.
Saunter and the fourth member of the team, Naomi Worcester, remain in Hawaii, while Butschek remains with his family in Texas, which became the first state to reach one million coronavirus cases last month.
"I feel like I'm still learning the details of everything," Butschek said.
"But fortunately no one I know, none of my friends, has been diagnosed with covid."
Social distancing and quarantine measures have slowed their return.
"It has all been quite strange," Worcester, 43, told CNN.
“We had to say goodbye to everyone at the airport.
I'm happy about all the great food, non-perishable food, that we can eat now.
But they have not given me a hug since I returned, "he said.
And while the team has just settled in a world facing a global health crisis, research on the island must continue.
"Starting the planning process has really been a challenge," Saunter said.
"But we are currently on the hunt for our next team," he added.
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