Aussie man in Wuhan would rather stay than have to go to Christmas Island

Rui Severino and his Wuhan based stables.
Rui Severino and his Wuhan based stables. Photo credit: Rui Severino/Facebook

An Australian man currently in lockdown in Wuhan amid the coronavirus outbreak, says many Aussies would rather stay in China than be quarantined on Christmas Island.

Rui Severino, a racehorse trainer from Melbourne, has lived in China for the past four years, and is calling the Christmas Island quarantine proposal "outrageous", reported the Guardian. 

He believes it will prevent many people from going back to Australia. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday revealed plans to send Australians from Wuhan and surrounding areas to the offshore detention center on Christmas Island.

Morrison did not confirm how many of the more than 600 Australians affected would be sent to the island, reported the BBC. 

Rui Severino has also criticised the Australian Government for charging evacuators transport to Christmas Island and does not believe it is fair. 

There are reports that Australian's are being told to pay A$1000 (NZ $1035.50), and agree to go to Christmas Island to be eligible for a seat home. 

Severino has declined the transport offer from the Australian embassy as he would rather stay in Wuhan where he feels relatively safe with his team and horses.

However, he does believe the government is doing the right thing to protect others from the virus but putting people so far off the mainland, in a prison-like institution was a step too far. 

"These are families with mothers, children, and they're going to a detention center to be behind bars, to be behind barbed wire? That's not really nice, I don't think," he told the Guardian.

"I'm sure they could find somewhere else to put these people." 

Christmas Island is 2600 km off the northwestern coast of Australia and has held thousands of asylum seekers. 

Home affairs minister Peter Dutton stands by the government's plans for the remote island quarantine centre. 

"I can't clear out a hospital in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane. I don't have a facility otherwise that we can quickly accommodate for what might be many hundreds of people, and Christmas Island is purpose-built for exactly this scenario," Dutton told the BBC.

However, the Australian Medical Association disagrees and is calling for the government to find a much more humane solution.