2 more flights of coronavirus evacuees from China landing in California
LOS ANGELES -- Two additional flights of evacuees fleeing the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan China are scheduled to land in California on Friday.
The flights chartered by the U.S. State Department, believed to be carrying U.S. citizens, have about 300 passengers on board.
U.S. Northern Command says one flight is flying through Vancouver, Canada and then landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
The other flight will land at Travis Air Force Base in the Bay Area, refuel and then head to Omaha, Nebraska, after first stopping at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
After landing, the evacuees will be subject to screening procedures for coronavirus and a 14-day quarantine. They will be kept separate from base personnel until cleared.
There have already been multiple State Department flights carrying hundreds of Americans evacuated from China as the coronavirus continues to spread. Several flights have landed at Travis and Miramar, where evacuees remain under quarantine.
MORE: What is coronavirus? Should outbreak concern Americans?
Miramar's commanding officer recently sent a letter to base personnel and families preparing them for "minor changes to daily life around the base" related to quarantining the evacuees.
"Repatriates will be confined throughout quarantine and there will be no contact with DOD personnel," the letter stated. "I cannot give you a timeframe for completion, but what I know is that the quarantine duration is 14 days. Finally, you should know that any person exhibiting symptoms during the quarantine period will be transferred off-station for care.''
The evacuees will be screened by Center for Disease Control medical personnel upon arrival and moved to a quarantine site on the base, where they will reside for a federally mandated 14-day quarantine in the base's Consolidated Bachelor's Quarters or Miramar Inn, officials said.
See more stories related to coronavirus here.
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