COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hundreds of Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China have been released from quarantine in the U.S. after testing negative for the coronavirus.

One of those who emerged healthy is Columbus native John McGory and he's giving Spectrum News 1 an exclusive look inside life in quarantine. 

• The day after his evacuation flight, he spent 14 days quarantined in San Diego
• He said It's been a great feeling to get out of quarantine and come back into normal life
• He’s thinking about some of his friends who aren't free

"I guess you really notice how much freedom means to you until it gets taken away from you and that's certainly been the situation where I have felt like my freedom was taken away," McGory said.

It's been a long five to six weeks for McGory, who says he was first quarantined in Wuhan as the city shut down to contain the coronavirus.  

Then after his evacuation flight, he spent 14 days quarantined at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego alongside more than 150 other U.S. citizens. 

Those two weeks were spent in a secluded area of the base, waiting to see if any one of them came down with symptoms of the coronavirus, an illness spreading terror around the world. 

"There was a fence around it, there were guards," McGory described.  "I went out to talk with the guards one day and I asked him how far he thinks I could get if I made a run for it and he said not too far."

He sent a video of himself walking through the area where he was staying, including down the hall of rooms where he says a cleaning crew disinfected everything, including the walls every day. 

"Every day there was a crew of about 10-15 people wearing white hazmat-looking suits and they would come along and ask if you wanted your room cleaned," he said.  "They didn't really want to come in, I don't believe, they looked pretty nervous when they asked."

There were plenty of snacks available for people — from cakes to ramen noodles.  They could also grab some magazines and crossword puzzle books, plus travel-sized toiletries.  

Handouts were also available that translated things like "I feel sick" or "shampoo," plus coping with stress and how to stop spreading germs.  

McGory says the worst part of quarantine is "I think the isolation, I mean in quarantine that's certainly what it's supposed to be, isolated.  So, it certainly wears on you after a while."

The group isolating kept away from any person who dared to cough or sneeze, for fear of contracting their illness and extending their quarantine stay.

14 long days later and still healthy, McGory and his fellow passengers were released.  His sister and brother-in-law picked him up and the first thing he asked to do was go to a restaurant and have tacos. 

But McGory says his release is bittersweet, as he remains concerned and unsure just how long the quarantine will last for those he left behind in Wuhan.

"You know, I'm free but I'm thinking about some of my friends that aren't free," McGory said.

McGory is still in California with family for a few more days and then he will fly into Cleveland on Friday to spend time with his son and grandchildren, before heading home to Columbus.