The United States is starting to bring Americans home from a cruise ship that’s been quarantined in Japan. Outside of China, the Diamond Princess is the site of the biggest coronavirus outbreak, with over 200 people infected, including “more than 40” Americans, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health told “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
The ship has been in the port city of Yokohama for well over a week now.
Those looking to take the charter flight to the U.S. on Sunday will undergo a health screening before boarding, and symptomatic passengers will not be allowed to board, the U.S. Embassy in Japan said. Passengers will be taken to Travis Air Force Base in California and some will continue on to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
The virus has infected tens of thousands of people around the world, most of them in mainland China. More than 1,600 people have died from the virus, which has spread to more than two dozen countries.
On Saturday, France’s health minister announced the first death from the novel coronavirus in Europe. The patient was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist who arrived in France in mid-January and was hospitalized later that month with a lung infection, according to French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn.
There are 15 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., but none are said to be suffering serious symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is setting up five labs around the country where people with flu-like symptoms can be tested for coronavirus if their flu results are negative.
