Coronavirus: China evacuee quarantined at California military base

Officials made the order after the evacuee tried to leave the base. The rest of the passengers who arrived on a flight Wednesday from Wuhan, China, remain at the base voluntarily.

A Wuhan evacuee who was on the flight that landed Wednesday, Jan. 29, at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County has been quarantined after attempting to leave the base, Riverside County health officials said.

County Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser issued the order requiring the passenger to stay for the entire incubation period, up to 14 days, or until otherwise cleared, officials said in a news release Thursday, Jan. 30. The order was made because of the unknown risk the person could have on the public if they left before being fully evaluated, officials said.

The passenger will remain on the base until their health status is confirmed. All other passengers from the flight are still on the base and continue to be evaluated for symptoms of the virus, including fever, cough and other respiratory symptoms, officials said.

The U.S. government-chartered flight touched down in Riverside County Wednesday morning following a brief stop for refueling in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally bound for Ontario International Airport, the flight was redirected late Tuesday.

The 195 passengers arrived at the base shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday where they remain in voluntary isolation for 72 hours before they can move on to their next destination, officials have said.

Passengers, including children whose ages range from 1 month to teens, went through two screenings in China and were monitored during the flight, officials said. They were screened again in Alaska during the fueling stop and approved to continue to March ARB.

Officials in Alaska said all 195 passengers passed health screenings. One person with a fever in Wuhan did not board the plane for the U.S., officials said.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team will continue to check passengers for symptoms, including temperature, every 12 hours over the 72-hour period, officials said.

The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly Americans from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan. The Chinese government has cut off access to Wuhan and 16 other cities in Hubei province to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further. In addition to the United States, countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Britain have also planned evacuations.

There have been more than 7,700 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China, according to the government there. At least 170 people have died from the respiratory illness — which belongs to the same family as the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. In the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, 5,327 people were diagnosed with the virus.

Since the new virus surfaced in December, there have been no deaths outside of China, but more than 80 cases of infection have been reported in other countries, including six in the U.S., including one each in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Chinese authorities have quarantined major cities in the province, including Wuhan, to try to stop the spread, affecting some 56 million people.

The virus is believed to have come from a wholesale market where vendors legally sold live animals from stalls in close quarters with hundreds of others. Nearly two decades ago, SARS had a similar origin story, jumping from bats to Asian palm civets, and then to humans involved in the wildlife trade.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that circulate mostly among animals, including camels, cats and bats. Common symptoms in an infected human include a fever, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Common symptoms in an infected person include a fever, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story is developing.