The Canberra-based parents of a toddler trapped in Hubei province by the coronavirus outbreak are in talks with the federal government about possibly traveling to China to retrieve their daughter.
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As the government organises the evacuation of more than 200 Australians who have been quarantined aboard a virus-hit cruise ship off Japan for almost two weeks, Yufei Luo, the father of 18-month-old Chloe, has been told the government is considering organising another evacuation flight for Australian citizens from Wuhan.
Meanwhile, the bulk of people quarantined on Christmas Island flew home on Monday after clearing the 14-day isolation period with no signs of the deadly virus.
Mr Yufei said his daughter was safe and healthy and was now under the care of his mother, who on Sunday night reached the apartment where Chloe is staying.
But he said he and his partner Yi Zhao were desperate to be reunited with their child.
Mr Yufei said he was talking with the government about joining any further Wuhan evacuation flight organised by the government so that Chloe could be brought home.
The parents sent the toddler to stay with her grandmother in Suizhou, Hubei province, in early January to escape the bushfire smoke blanketing Canberra.
But just days later Chinese authorities revealed news of the the coronavirus outbreak and locked down the province, stranding Chloe near the epicentre of the outbreak.
While the couple explores options to retrieve their daughter, more than 200 people who spent about two weeks at Christmas Island's former detention centre have been cleared of the possibility of COVID-19.
They had been evacuated from Wuhan in China's Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus outbreak.
Melissa Wang, who disembarked in Sydney, said she was "feeling so exhausted it's kind of just a relief".
She said her experience on the island was "really positive" and she was "very surprised by the care of all the teams".
"I was expecting a detention centre, and that's what it was, but did not expect the warmth of the people," Ms Wang told AAP.
Mother Bing Bing Gao said she planned to go home and rest.
"I just want to say a big thanks to our government," she said.
Ms Gao said she too had a "really great time" on Christmas Island.
"I was a bit worried before but then once we got there we were actually treated so well and they looked after us so well. I'm just so grateful," she said.
"Actually, we wished we could have stayed a bit longer. (I) didn't want to come home."
Ms Gao said she was never worried she might have the virus because she was far from the city, staying at an orchard.
She said getting out of Wuhan had been difficult and stressful because the city was blocked.
Ms Gao still has family in China.
"Of course I do worry about them," she said.
"We have such big population in China, and I have to say, you do have a lot of chance to get the virus."
Mel Pleno was quarantined with his wife and three kids after "a lot of uncertainty about our personal safety and wellbeing in Wuhan".
He said it was an "easy choice" to accept the government's evacuation offer.
"We're very grateful for the Australian government and their response to the situation, and chartering a plane for my family to come back," Mr Pleno told AAP in Sydney.
"Whilst coming straight to Christmas Island wasn't the ideal place to come at first instance, we were well taken care of."
About 35 people have been left on the island for another flight on Wednesday.
None of the people will be required to take further tests after they get home, as they were cleared just before leaving the island.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also announced that Australians aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored off Yokohama will be flown to Darwin on Wednesday and taken to a former workers camp where they will be kept in quarantine for 14 days.
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The announcement came as the Australian Services Union raised concerns that Australian Taxation Office staff might be at risk of infection after an employee whose wife returned from mainland China last Thursday turned up to work on Friday and Monday.
Union official Jeff Lapidos said that the ATO's response to the risk posed to staff was "inadequate".
Mr Lapidos said the union recognised the man was in a difficult position and was not critical of him.
But he said the ATO should make arrangements for the man to take leave or work from home while his wife was in self-imposed quarantine.
"The ATO has not put any special controls in place to deal with the situation and ATO People has refused to intervene," Mr Lapidos said.
But an ATO spokesperson said the agency rejected the criticism.
While declining to comment on "specific matters", the spokesperson said the ATO took the health and safety of staff seriously and had provided employees with regular health information that aligns with the Health Department's official advice.
This included that employees who had been in, or transited through, mainland China in the past 14 days, or who had been in close contact with a proven coronavirus case, should isolate themselves for 14 days.
"Others that live with you are not required to be isolated unless they meet one of the above isolation criteria," the spokesperson said.
There have been 15 cases of COVID-19 in Australia, with eight people now recovered and the rest in a stable condition.
There are now more than 69,200 cases worldwide, with 1670 reported deaths.
- with AAP