Photo/Illutration A bus carrying Japanese evacuees from Wuhan, China, leaves a hotel as local residents wave to them in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, on the morning of Feb. 13. (Yosuke Fukudome)

KATSUURA, Chiba Prefecture--After being quarantined at a hotel here for nearly two weeks, about 140 Japanese evacuees were given a warm send-off by local residents who cheered and waved to them on Feb. 13.

They had remained in the beachfront Katsuura Hotel Mikazuki in southern Chiba Prefecture after their return to Japan on Jan. 29 from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

All evacuees at the hotel were allowed to leave after testing negative for the coronavirus on Feb. 11, after the incubation period of 12 and a half days.

Most left in four buses arranged by the government and other vehicles on the morning of Feb. 13.

About 150 local residents assembled in front of the hotel in response to a call on social media to send off the evacuees. Some held signs saying, “Let’s meet again” or “Take care.”

Thirty-six evacuees had already left the hotel the previous night.

A married couple in their 50s who left for home on the night of Feb. 12 told The Asahi Shimbun that they were both “relieved.”

“There is nothing more I can say,” one of them said.

The couple were among 206 Japanese who evacuated from Wuhan on the first flight chartered by the government.

After their arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on the morning of Jan. 29, 197 people had been isolated in the hotel, a step taken by the government to stem the possible spread of the coronavirus.

In addition, about 540 people have been quarantined in three government facilities in Chiba and Saitama prefectures since their evacuation from Wuhan on three additional charter flights.

If the evacuees test negative for the virus, they will be discharged from the facilities starting from Feb. 13.

A male evacuee in his 50s who had stayed at the hotel in Katsuura said evacuees were not permitted to use a large communal bath or dine in restaurants at the hotel.

They were confined to their rooms, which have a bath and toilet. For meals, they were given bento boxed meals most of the time.

The man said he became anxious each time new cases of coronavirus infections were reported in the news media.

“My heart sank further and further as I felt we were somehow responsible” for the infection, he recalled.

He said he was heartened by a warm gesture shown by the residents of Katsuura. On the evening of Feb. 11, about 100 locals gathered on the beach near the hotel to offer the evacuees moral support by lighting about 3,000 bamboo lanterns.

Their message shown with a projector read, “Only a few more days to go. Hang in there.”

“I could quell my fears thanks to local people,” the man said.

But he said he still is not completely reassured even after being declared free of the virus and is worried about his reception back in society.

He noted that one evacuee who stayed in the hotel tested positive after twice being cleared.

“I am afraid that the test result may not be perceived as reliable by the public,” the man said. “I don’t know if they will accept my clearance.”

Similar concerns about society’s perception of evacuees were voiced by a man in his 60s who is staying at the National Tax College in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, one of the three government facilities.

The man underwent the virus test on Feb. 12 in preparation for his discharge.

When he called acquaintances to tell them that he would be released soon, one suggested that he not return to society so soon.

While the man laughed off the suggestion, he remains worried about the reception he may get.

“I am not going to tell people that I have been in the government facility” for the quarantine, he said.

The man visited Wuhan on Jan. 21 to celebrate China’s Lunar New Year with his Chinese wife, who lives in the city. He returned to Japan on Jan. 30 on the second charter flight.

He said his stay at the government facility was not exactly comfortable like in a hotel.

But he expressed gratitude to the staff at the facility.

“They were patient with us, and I appreciate their attitude,” he said.

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