China evacuees cleared to leave US base quarantine

A group of 195 evacuees was cleared Tuesday to end a two-week quarantine at a Sourn California military base after flying out of China during a dely viral outbreak, officials said. Authorities say quarantine ends Tuesday for those held at March Air Reserve Base. ne have tested positive for vel coronavirus, which has claimed more than 1,000 lives worldwide.

Fear of disease has led to “unacceptable” treatment of ors who work at March Air Reserve Base, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, public health officer for Riverside County, said in an open letter to community on Monday.

evacuees, which include U.S. State Department workers and ir families, were isolated from base personnel and weren't permitted to leave a fenced quarantine area, Kaiser said.

Among those leaving base Tuesday in Riverside County was Consul General Jamie Fouss. He described how y h to check passengers against manifest on chartered plane in China, check bags and conduct health screenings before taking off for Alaska and later California.

quarantine, he said, wasn't as challenging as he thought it could be, ding group stayed busy with evacuees running Zumba and art classes and activities for children.

In United States, re have been only 13 confirmed cases, including seven in California, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and or health officials.

Hundreds of evacuees remain under quarantine at or bases in California, Texas and Nebraska, and only one has tested positive for virus. That person, who initially tested negative, is w in isolation at a San Diego hospital.