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B.C. man reunited with wife and daughter after coronavirus kept them apart for weeks

A B.C. man is breathing a sigh of relief after being reunited with his wife and daughter in Vancouver.

The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, kept Monte Gisborne away from his wife, Daniela Luo, and their nine-year-old daughter, Dominica, for weeks.

With a rose in one hand for his wife and a stuffed toy for his daughter in his jacket pocket, he waited for the pair to arrive at Vancouver International Airport late Wednesday night.

"It was more about the uncertainty of the situation that drove me nuts and them, too," he said.

Gisborne had stayed behind in Coquitlam to start a new job while his wife and daughter were visiting family in Wuhan for a couple of weeks for Lunar New Year.

A few days after Daniela and Dominica arrived in Wuhan, the entire city was quarantined because of the coronavirus outbreak.

CBC News
CBC News

"It was scary.... there was a lot of death around them," he said.

They were able to get on a flight chartered by the Canadian government, but that was just the first part of their journey, he said.

Daniela and Dominica had to spend two weeks in quarantine at CFB Trenton in Ontario. They weren't allowed to leave their room.

"Our daughter's nine years old and she's a wonderful kid and she's very active.... I don't know how she was able to contain herself in a 1,000-square-foot apartment," he said.

The family was short on words after the reunion and eager to return home.

Gisborne said he is relieved his wife and daughter are safe and healthy.

CBC News
CBC News