U.S. quarantines 195 Wuhan coronavirus evacuees at California military base

First electron microscopic images of the novel coronavirus in China [CDC.gov, public domain, 1/24/2020]

• CDC issues federal quarantine orders for 195 Americans evacuated from China, who are being housed at March Air Reserve Base

• First CDC quarantine in 50 years. Last federal quarantine was issued in the 1960s for smallpox.

• The repatriated individuals will remain quarantined for 14 days, starting from when the flight left China.


FRIDAY, 1PM EASTERN, JAN 31 2020: The United States Centers for Disease Control, under the authority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says 195 American citizens are quarantined at a military base after having been evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of a growing global coronavirus outbreak.

The 195 quarantined persons arrived earlier this week at March Air Reserve Base in California.

Here is the CDC's tweet:

From the Washington Post:

BREAKING: The quarantine authority, rarely used in the United States, would restrict the travelers' movements for 14 days from when they left Wuhan, China, because officials say they're still uncertain about how readily the virus spreads.

All American citizens returning to the United States from Wuhan, China, will be quarantined, according to the Friday announcement.

Last time the CDC imposed a quarantine order was in the 1960s, for a smallpox evaluation, the CDC official said on a Friday call with reporters.

The official said that "isolation" applies to people who are already sick, while "quarantine" is for those who are believed to have been exposed but who are not yet sick.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.