63 Released From Coronavirus Quarantine At MCAS Miramar

SAN DIEGO — Dozens of people who were evacuated from the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, were released Thursday from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.

The 63 people were among 65 passengers who arrived Feb. 7 at MCAS Miramar, where they were quarantined for two weeks.

Two other passengers who were confirmed to have coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, were under observation at UC San Diego Health in Hillcrest. One patient was discharged Wednesday after multiple tests came back with negative results and the person was cleared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. One patient was still in isolation Thursday, but UCSD spokesman Scott LaFee said they had multiple tests come back negative and were waiting for the CDC to "greenlight" that patient's discharge from the hospital.

More than 200 people were quarantined at one time on the base. On Tuesday, 166 people who arrived Feb. 5 in San Diego were released from mandatory 14-day quarantine.

• Related: 166 Released From Coronavirus Quarantine At MCAS Miramar

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday unanimously reaffirmed and extended a local health emergency declaration in response to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.

County officials initially declared the local health emergency last Friday, effective for seven days. The board's action Wednesday extends the declaration for another 30 days, after which the board can vote to extend the declaration again.

Despite the declaration, however, county officials stressed that the risk of contracting the virus locally remains extremely low.

• Related: San Diego County Extends Coronavirus Emergency

There have been more than 76,000 reported cases of the disease worldwide, with more than 2,100 deaths. All but eight of those deaths have occurred in China. There are 15 confirmed cases of the disease in the United States, including one each in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

City News Service and Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.