Vakkas Doğantekin
05 February 2020•Update: 05 February 2020
ANKARA
Two planes carrying 350 American coronavirus evacuees from the heart of the outbreak in China landed Wednesday at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California, according to local media.
Passengers on one of the State Department chartered flights will stay at the military base in quarantine for 14 days, while passengers on a second flight would reportedly leave for Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego after refueling. They would also be quarantined for 14 days.
"Evacuees being received at Travis AFB as part of the Department of Health and Human Services operation will be housed at Travis' Westwind Inn lodging facility. A safety cordon will be established, away from residential housing, to ensure the Travis mission can safely continue, the privacy of the evacuees can be enforced, and to protect the health and welfare of our Team Travis community," according to a statement from the airbase.
The flights comes almost a week after the first 195 American evacuees from Wuhan also arrived in California. They are under a 14-day quarantine at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County.
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan in December, has risen to nearly 500, with more than 24,000 confirmed cases.
The virus is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.
Besides China, the virus has spread to more than 20 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain, and India.
Many countries have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan and other affected areas of China, placing them in isolated medical care.
The World Health Organization last month declared the outbreak an international emergency.
- China mad at US
China on Monday criticized the U.S. for spreading fear.
Foreign Ministry spokeswomen Hua Chunying told reporters Washington did not extend help to Beijing to battle the deadly virus.
“Some countries, the U.S. in particular, have inappropriately overreacted, which certainly runs counter to the World Health Organization's advice,” Hua said, adding that many countries applauded China for its efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
“The U.S. government has not provided any substantial assistance to us, but it was the first to evacuate personnel from its consulate in Wuhan, the first to suggest partial withdrawal of its embassy staff, and the first to impose a travel ban on Chinese travelers,” the official said. “All the U.S. has done is to create and spread fear, which is a bad example.”
