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2 planes carrying American coronavirus evacuees held in California, Canada over ‘persons of interest’: sources
By
Madeline Farber | Fox News
Two State Department-chartered flights carrying additional American evacuees from Wuhan, China -- the epicenter of the deadly
coronavirus outbreak -- were held in Vancouver, Canada and Travis Air Force Base in California due to "two persons of interest," one on each plane. The passengers showed symptoms of coronavirus, which include fever, shortness of breath, and a cough, two U.S. officials close to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told Fox News.
Medical teams in Nebraska and Texas are prepared to receive the passengers, who were set to be held in quarantine for 14 days while they were monitored for possible symptoms.
The latest estimates suggested the plane held in Vancouver was expected to arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif., shortly before 12 p.m. ET, while the other plane was estimated to arrive at its first stop at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio around 1:30 p.m. ET. The plane would then leave Lackland for Nebraska to drop off the remaining passengers at Eppley Airfield in Omaha.
On Thursday, an official with the federal department told Fox News that the two flights
were likely to be the last State Department-chartered flights out of the city.
“At this time, we do not anticipate staging additional flights beyond those planned to depart February 6,” the spokesperson said, adding any U.S. citizens still in China “should attempt to depart by commercial means.”