US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Saturday approved a request from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the possible use of military facilities to accommodate 1,000 people who might have to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas due to a coronavirus outbreak.
A defense department statement said that HHS officials requested the use of several facilities capable of housing at least 250 people in individual rooms through Feb. 29.
The HHS would be responsible for all care, transportation and security of the evacuees, the statement said.
An order signed on Friday by US President Donald Trump temporarily bars entry to foreign nationals who have traveled to China within the past 14 days, with the exception of immediate family of US citizens and permanent residents.
Americans returning from China would be allowed into the country, but would face screening at select ports of entry and required to undertake 14 days of self-screening to ensure they do not pose a health risk.
Those returning from Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak, are to be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine.
The installations selected by the defense department are the 168th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, Fort Carson, Colorado; Travis US Air Force Base, California; Lackland US Air Force Base, Texas; and US Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.
Nearly 200 Americans already are quarantined at a military base in Southern California after being evacuated from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.
None of the Americans being housed at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside has shown signs of illness, but it can take up to two weeks for someone who is infected to get sick.
Beginning yesterday, the US was to begin funneling all flights to the US from China to seven major airports, where passengers can be screened for illness.
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