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Americans quarantined on board a cruise ship at a Japanese port will be
evacuated to the United States this weekend, the U.S. State Department
said.
Officials said the citizens will be flown back to the United States on
Sunday and will be quarantined another 14 days at either Travis Air
Force Base in California or Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
The State Department notified the roughly 380 Americans of the evacuation in a letter Friday.
"To fulfill our government's responsibilities to U.S. citizens under our
rules and practices, as well as to reduce the burden on the Japanese
healthcare system, the U.S. government recommends, out of an abundance
of caution, that U.S. citizens disembark and return to the United States
for further monitoring," the letter read.
"We recognize this has been a stressful experience and we remain
dedicated to providing all the support we can and seeing you safely and
expeditiously reunited with family and friends in the United States."
Each American will undergo a health check and those exhibiting symptoms
of coronavirus won't be allowed on board the chartered aircraft.
The letter said that those who choose not to return to the United States
aboard the aircraft will be unable to return "for a period of time."
More than 3,700 people on board the Diamond Princess have been
quarantined on the cruise ship since Feb. 4. The quarantine was
scheduled to be lifted Wednesday.
Of the thousands on board, 285 people have tested positive for the
virus, which the World Health Organization has dubbed COVID-19.
Sixty-seven new cases were announced Saturday.
Worldwide, more than 67,000 cases of the coronavirus have been
confirmed, with more than 1,500 deaths, mostly in China, the epicenter
of the disease. France reported Europe's first death from the virus
Friday.
There have been 15 cases in the United States. Two of those people were
being treated at the University of California San Diego Health Center,
and many U.S. evacuees from China have been quarantined at Marine Corps
Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher declared a local public
health emergency "out of an abundance of caution" on Friday. He said the
local emergency will be in effect for seven days.
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