China Coronavirus Airlift Flights Land At Travis Air Force Base
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE (CBS SF) -- Two flights with 350 Americans on board arrived early Wednesday at Travis Air Force Base after a flight from China where the death toll continued to rise from a Coronavirus outbreak.
The first plane arrived at 4 a.m. with a second flight landing 20 minutes later.
Passengers on the first flight will remain at the air base and be quarantined for 14 days. Passengers on the other flight were scheduled to continue on to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego after refueling. They also will be quarantined for 14 days.
Health officials said the quarantines were meant to protect others from the spread of the novel coronavirus, which broke out initially in Wuhan and has spread to the U.S.
Four people in Northern California have been diagnosed with the disease -- two cases in San Benito County and two in Santa Clara County.
The husband and wife diagnosed in San Benito County are being treated at a hospital affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco,
university health officials confirmed.
In addition, five workers at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose were sent home after being exposed to the virus, Santa Clara County officials
said Tuesday.
In China, more than 17,000 cases of the virus have been reported and some 300 people have died.
Travelers from Wuhan who will be staying at least temporarily at Travis Air Force Base will be lodging at the base's Westwind Inn. The inn was cordoned off to protect the privacy of the evacuees and to protect the service personnel at the air base.
Their quarantine will be managed by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, military officials said.
Travis is one of four military bases that have been selected by the Department of Health and Human Services to house evacuees coming to the U.S. due to the coronavirus.