SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Several planes carrying Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China are set to arrive in California, Texas and Nebraska this week, where they’ll be quarantined for up to two weeks to be monitored for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says passengers will be quarantined at one of the four military bases: Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, and Eppley Airfield in Omaha.
When the planes arrive, they will be met by CDC personnel who will assess the health of the passengers, who have been screen, monitored and evaluated by medical and public health personnel every step of the way.
Officials say CDC staff will conduct risk assessments to ensure the health of each traveler, including temperature checks and observing for respiratory symptoms.
The passengers will then be quarantined, which the CDC says is intended to protect the travelers, their families, and the community.
Medical care will be readily available at the first onset of symptoms, if needed. If any passengers begin exhibiting symptoms, the CDC says it will work with state and local public health departments to transport the patients to hospitals.
The CDC says it believes the immediate risk of coronavirus exposure to the country’s general public remains low, but officials are undertaking these measures to help keep the risk low.
The coronavirus outbreak has killed at least 492 people worldwide, with a majority of the deaths in China, and more than 24,500 people have been infected in 25 countries, including the United States,
CNN reports.