Australians in Wuhan who have applied for a flight to Christmas Island are now waiting to see if they will be able to leave the coronavirus epicentre.
Chinese officials are yet to approve the federal government’s plans to evacuate Australians and quarantine them offshore.
One of about 600 Australians in Wuhan is Daniel Ou Yang, 21, who has applied to be evacuated.
Mr Yang had planned to stay in the locked-down city but doesn’t want to put his life on hold as the global health crisis unfolds.
He initially feared he might be treated like a detainee on Christmas Island, where evacuees would be quarantined for 14 days before being cleared to return home.
“I would be putting my whole life on pause for possibly half the year,” he told AAP.
“A lot of things would have to be put on hold if I don’t get on this flight.”
The $1,000 price tag for the evacuation to Christmas Island does not faze Mr Yang, who works in real estate.
But he could see how the most vulnerable may struggle to pay the fee.
“It is not a great feeling to be not going to (the mainland) and having to pay when it is out of your control,” Mr Yang told AAP.
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