A plane carrying 201 Americans evacuating Wuhan, China, amid the ongoingcoronavirus outbreak, landed in California on Wednesday.
The plane landed at 8:00 a.m. after being diverted to March Air Base in Riverside County, said David Wert, public information officer for San Bernardino County in a statement to PEOPLE.
Wert added that though the landing site was out of their jurisdiction, San Bernardino officials were “well-prepared to respond and support nonetheless.”
The passengers completed health exams in China and in Alaska, where the plane stopped to refuel before making it to California, according toUSA Today, and all those aboard will be temporarily quarantined.
According to CBS News, more than 1,000 Americans were still in Wuhan awaiting evacuation prior to this flight.
“The whole plane erupted in cheers when the crew said, ‘Welcome home to the United States,’” Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, toldThe New York Times.
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Flight.ETIENNE LAURENT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Several commercial airlines have halted flights to and from parts of China, citing lowered demand for travel to the country amid the outbreak.
American Airlines will, however, continue to fly to Beijing and Shanghai via Dallas/Fort Worth, and will also still fly from L.A. to Hong Kong.
United Airlinesalso ceased flying similar routes, according toNBC News; the airline says it will “continue to monitor” developments. Representatives from United did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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According to theWorld Health Organizationon Wednesday, there have been 6,065 confirmed cases of people with coronavirus, with 132 deaths.
Outside of China, there have been 68 confirmed cases so far across 15 countries, WHO reported.
Thefirst U.S. caseof the coronavirus, a respiratory infection that doesn’t have a known treatment, was reported earlier this month. The 30-something man had recently traveled to Wuhan and returned to the U.S. on Jan. 15.
More countries plan on evacuating citizens from Wuhan, according to theTimes, including France, Britain, Canada, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, Germany, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Australia and Myanmar.
source: people.com
