NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The past few weeks have been quite the journey Sergio McRae, a Newport News man who has been teaching in Wuhan, China over the last six years.
Two weeks ago, he evacuated Wuhan and returned to the U.S. amid the coronavirus outbreak. Ever since then, he has been under a mandatory 14-day quarantine at a military base in Texas.
On Thursday, health officials told McRae he does not have the virus and released him.
He flew into Norfolk International Airport Thursday night.
“It feels real good to be back in Newport News with my family, my friends,” said McRae. “I can go anywhere I want, I’m safe and healthy, my friends and family feel healthy around me.”
He described the last two weeks in quarantine as repetitive. Every day he followed a schedule and had limited contact with people.
“At 7 a.m. we would go get our temperature checked, they would deliver breakfast, catch up with some other [people in quarantine], get a cup of coffee, emails, online classes, and then open town hall and just gather around outside where it was safe to have people, maintain our distance while they informed us with new updates, answer any questions, and then dinner,” said McRae.
Even then, he said it wasn't too bad.
“It did not feel long at all. They made sure we had activities,” said McRae.
In the middle of it all, he said he kept busy and continued to teach his students in Wuhan English classes.
While he’s glad to be home, he said his heart is still in Wuhan.
“If everyone says it's all clear, I will consider going back because I had my life there. I lived there for over 6 years,” said McRae.