Sources: RLS Media; Military Times
About a dozen passengers experiencing symptoms of influenza on the Royal Carribean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas were quarantined and tested for the coronavirus infection by New Jersey health officials after the ship was instructed to dock in Bayonne.
In a statement, Royal Caribbean said: “We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.”
Four of the passengers are still being evaluated; the others were cleared. It is possible the people on the ship could have the flu, which — at least in the U.S. this season — has been much more deadly than coronavirus.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey is one of eleven military installations that will serve as quarantine stations as more evacuees arrive from coronavirus-infected Wuhan, China, according to the Pentagon.
Over the weekend, State Department-chartered flights left China with 300 passengers who will undergo a 14-day quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak that started in China and has spread through more than 20 countries.
“The initial flights have departed China for the United States with approximately 300 passengers on board,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. David Eastburn said in a statement. “One of the aircraft will refuel at Travis Air Force Base and continue on to Omaha, Nebraska via Lackland Air Force Base. The other aircraft is en route to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar via Vancouver, Canada.”
Since Jan. 29, more than 500 other evacuees from Wuhan have arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Travis Air Force Base, and March Air Reserve Base.
Each of the eleven installations can house up to 20 people during the 14-day quarantine, and are only “tertiary” locations in the event other Health and Human Services (HHS) facilities identified as quarantine locations are overcrowded.
The World Health Organization said there are more than 28,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide and that the death toll has surpassed 550 as of Feb. 6. There have been more than 200 confirmed cases and one death outside of China.
So far, there have been 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S.