Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Evacuees Arrive at Joint Base San Antonio
February 18, 2020 - Joint Base San Antonio
The Diamond Princess Cruise Ship sits in a harbor in Japan. Photo: Creative Commons.
By B. Kay Richter - Writer, San Antonio Sentinel
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas Department of State Health Services and the City of San Antonio continue to be on high alert as American passengers arrived at Lackland Air Force Base on Monday after a quarantine aboard the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship.
While all passengers from the cruise ship were previously evaluated by medical personnel from the United States Department of Health and Human Services and were reported as not displaying symptoms of COVID-19 (formerly coronavirus), they will still remain under quarantine for the next 14 days.
"As of today, the risk to the general public of contracting COVID-19 continues to remain low. Every precaution has been taken to keep the public isolated from these travelers who are in a precautionary quarantine and any travelers who have shown symptoms of the virus. Our residents should continue to go about their lives," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a press release yesterday.
The group of travelers who arrived Monday was placed in a separate location from that of the travelers arriving last week. As far as passengers who may have developed symptoms during their flight and tested positive for COVID-19 - they were subsequently transported to another location outside of the city of San Antonio for isolation and treatment.
RELATED: Lackland AFB Selected as Coronavirus Quarantine Site for Repatriated U.S. Citizens from China
."We are committed to keeping the public fully informed and will continue to provide updates as this situation unfolds," said City Manager Erik Walsh in a press statement.
For continued updates regarding COVID-19, Metro Health does maintain a website for those seeking up-to-date information on the situation. Their website is link below:
https://www.sanantonio.gov/Health/coronavirus
B. Kay Richter is a writer and photographer residing in the Alamo City. Contact her at bkay@sasentinel.com