- The CDC has said 380 Americans will evacuated from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- They will be brought back to the Travis Air Base near Sacramento, California, by two State Department flights as early as Sunday.
- More than 200 people on the ship have tested positive for the new COVID-19.
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Almost 400 Americans quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, will be offered seats on two State Department flights to the Travis Air Base near Sacramento, California, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing Center for Disease Control official Henry Walke.
Walke, director of the Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections at the CDC, said that they could be transported back as soon as Sunday.
According to The Journal, the CDC is in Japan "assessing" the health of passengers, and those who show symptoms will not be evacuated.
Those who make it back to the Travis Air Base will have their health reevaluated and most likely undergo a 14 day quarantine either at Travis or Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
The CDC did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The ship had over 3,700 people on board when it went into quarantine last week, after it was discovered that a man who disembarked in Hong Kong in January tested positive for the virus. So far, 218 people have tested positive and were removed from the ship for treatment.
The ship was set to remain in quarantine until February 19, until it was announced Friday that those who test negative will be allowed off the ship and into housing sponsored by the Japanese government, Business Insider reported. Priority would be given to the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, or those with windowless rooms.
The Travis Air Base currently has about 230 people quarantined there after they were evacuated from Wuhan, China, The Journal reported. The virus most likely originated from wet markets in Wuhan.
Officials told The Journal, they intend to keep those evacuated from the ship in a housing unit 200 meter away from where those evacuated from Wuhan are staying.
In the US, there are only 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Globally, COVID-19 has killed more then 1,500 and infected 67,000.
- Read more:
- The Wuhan coronavirus death toll has reached 1,523, with nearly 67,000 infected. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.
- 11 crew on the quarantined coronavirus cruise ship have contracted the disease - and the rest are afraid they'll be next
- A Japanese health worker caught coronavirus on the quarantined cruise ship where 174 passengers have tested positive
- A cruise passenger quarantined on a coronavirus-stricken ship is now wondering if the best way off is just to get sick