Fourteen US citizens who were evacuated from a Japanese cruise ship that had been quarantined and recently flown back to the United States on charter flights have tested positive for novel coronavirus.
According to a joint statement from the US Departments of State and Health and Human Services, the passengers are among the more than 300 people removed from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
US officials were notified that they had tested positive for coronavirus during the evacuation process after passengers had disembarked the ship, the agencies said in the joint statement Monday.
The passengers had been tested two to three days before the evacuation flights, the statement said.
"After consultation with HHS officials, including experts from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the State Department made the decision to allow the 14 individuals, who were in isolation, separated from other passengers, and continued to be asymptomatic, to remain on the aircraft to complete the evacuation process," the agencies said.
The passengers who tested positive were isolated from the other passengers during the flights, the statement said. And all passengers are being "closely monitored" throughout the flight.
"Anywho become symptomatic will be moved to the specialized containment area, where they will be treated," the statement said.
After the flights land, any passengers that developed symptoms on the flights and those who had already tested positive will be transported to "an appropriate location for continued isolation and care."
The remaining passengers will remain under quarantine for 14 days.
Passengers arriving to Travis Air Force Base will be housed in the same facility as evacuees who arrived from Wuhan earlier this month, a spokesperson for the base told CNN. New evacuees will be kept in a separate area of the Westwind Inn on the base, the spokesperson said.
The Wuhan coronavirus death toll has reached 1,770, with more than 71,000 infected.
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