OTTAWA -- Hundreds of Canadians and their family members are to be released from quarantine today after two weeks in isolation at an Ontario Canadian Forces base.

They'll get to leave their quarters at CFB Trenton just hours after a new planeload of people potentially exposed to the novel coronavirus called COVID-19 arrived from Japan overnight.

The evacuees leaving quarantine were the first to arrive from the centre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 7.

The 213 Canadians and accompanying family members were flown from the quarantined city aboard flights chartered by the Canadian and American governments and taken to the base for isolation and observation.

Government officials say none of the evacuees has shown any symptoms of the virus during their stay at the base.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says the government is helping all the evacuees with their travel plans, but all will be expected to make their own ways home from Ontario.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2020.