NorCal Coronavirus Quarantine Site Chosen

BAY AREA — Just one day after the Bay Area's first novel coronavirus case was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control, the Pentagon said that Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield is one of four U.S. military bases on standby to house overseas travelers who may need to be quarantined.

The other three are Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Each base can house at least 250 quarantined people.

Already, 195 people are quarantined at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County.

There are now eight confirmed U.S. cases of coronavirus, including one in Santa Clara County that was announced on Friday.

Health officials announced the latest U.S. case on Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts, of a man in his 20s who had recently traveled to Wuhan, China.

The virus, with cold or flu-like symptoms, is thought to have spread from animals to humans, perhaps at a large seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China.

As of Saturday, the virus has sickened at least 14,380 people in China and killed 304, according to the National Health Commission of the People's Republic China. The commission has banned funerals for people who die from the coronavirus and recommends cremation take place as quickly as possible.

The World Health Organization reported Saturday that there were 132 confirmed cases in 23 countries outside of China.

On Friday, Alex Azar, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the virus and said that anyone who had traveled to Hubei Province in China, where Wuhan is located, within the past 14 days, will be subject to a quarantine of up to 14 days.

Anyone who was in the rest of mainland China will be required to undergo health screenings at one of seven airports: San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago and Honolulu.

Also, foreign citizens who have been in China and "pose a risk" of transmitting the virus, except those who are immediate family of American citizens, will be denied entry into the U.S.

— Patch editor Bea Karnes and Bay City News contributed to this story

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