Quarantine during the pandemic in a resort style in France.

All 179 people, mostly French citizens and their Chinese spouses, were evacuated from Wuhan to France on February 1st and began a two-week quarantine at the seaside resort town of Carry-le-Rouetven in the southeast of the country.

Twice a day, nurses take the temperature of those in quarantine and check for symptoms of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV). Besides adhering to the medical check-up schedule, their daily "job" consists of simply charging their phones and receiving freshly laundered and clean clothes.

The quarantine area arranged by the government is an isolated resort nestled in a pine forest on the coast, more than 3 km from the town of Carry-le-Rouet and about 30 km from the Mediterranean port city of Marseille.

On the first morning in quarantine, some woke up early to watch the sunrise, some sat outdoors in the pleasantly mild temperature, or wandered around to explore the resort. Inside the resort, there was a volleyball court, art classes, and a relaxing space for a cup of coffee, making those in quarantine feel like they were truly on vacation.

Marc Ziltman, a senior Red Cross official, shared: "The French authorities have chosen to make those in quarantine as comfortable as possible. It has to be a pleasant place because everyone is living in fear of a major epidemic!"

Currently, no one in this quarantine area has shown symptoms of COVID-19. The medical team consists of 20 people, including doctors, nurses, and psychologists. French police are providing security, and 30 Red Cross volunteers are assisting with logistics.

Outside the resort, members of the security force patrolled to ensure safety. The parents of a French student quarantined at the resort came to drop off their son a travel bag containing clean clothes, but they were not allowed inside and had to hand it over to the security forces. The father said his son said the atmosphere there was "quite wonderful." "I think everyone here feels relaxed, in very good conditions," he told reporters gathered outside the quarantine area.

My Tong