U.S. quarantines 195 Wuhan coronavirus evacuees at California military base
" CDC issues federal quarantine orders for 195 Americans evacuated from China, who are being housed at March Air Reserve Base
" First CDC quarantine in 50 years. Last federal quarantine was issued in the 1960s for smallpox.
" The repatriated individuals will remain quarantined for 14 days, starting from when the flight left China.
FRIDAY, 1PM EASTERN, JAN 31 2020: The United States Centers for Disease Control, under the authority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says 195 American citizens are quarantined at a military base after having been evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of a growing global coronavirus outbreak.
The 195 quarantined persons arrived earlier this week at March Air Reserve Base in California.
Here is the CDC's tweet:
The CDC, under statutory authority of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has issued federal quarantine orders to all 195 United States citizens who repatriated to the U.S. on January 29, 2020. The quarantine will last 14 days from when the plane left Wuhan, China.
- CDC (@CDCgov) January 31, 2020
From the Washington Post:
BREAKING: The quarantine authority, rarely used in the United States, would restrict the travelers' movements for 14 days from when they left Wuhan, China, because officials say they're still uncertain about how readily the virus spreads.
All American citizens returning to the United States from Wuhan, China, will be quarantined, according to the Friday announcement.
Last time the CDC imposed a quarantine order was in the 1960s, for a smallpox evaluation, the CDC official said on a Friday call with reporters.
The official said that "isolation" applies to people who are already sick, while "quarantine" is for those who are believed to have been exposed but who are not yet sick.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
BREAKING: U.S. to quarantine all U.S. citizens evacuated from Wuhan, as CDC raises pandemic possibility https://t.co/SfUItuotnS
- STAT (@statnews) January 31, 2020
CDC has issued federal quarantine orders for the 195 Americans at March Air Reserve Base.
This legal order--the first in 50 years--means the repatriated individuals will remain quarantined for 14 days, starting from when the flight left China #nCoV2019/#2019nCoV #coronavirus https://t.co/j63NJ5k6sS
- Nsikan Akpan (@MoNscience) January 31, 2020
"This is part of their civic responsibility to protect their communities," says CDC's Dr. Marty Cetron. Says 14 day quarantine covers incubation period and should reassure those quarantined that they'll be tested and treated fast if they do get sick.
- Maggie Fox (@maggiemfox) January 31, 2020
Breaking: US has imposed a rare federal quarantine on 195 people who were evacuated from Wuhan. They are being held at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., for 14 days. https://t.co/albJt2BSw9 #coronarvirus
- Shreeya Sinha (@ShreeyaSinha) January 31, 2020