Great Lakes Navy Base Named As Coronavirus Quarantine Location

GREAT LAKES, IL — Pentagon officials announced that Naval Station Great Lakes will serve as a backup location to quarantine travelers who may have contracted the new coronavirus.

The Department of Health and Human Services, or HSS, asked the Department of Defense, or DoD, to identify facilities near the country's largest airports that could be used to house people if primary and secondary quarantine locations reach capacity.

On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced 11 potential locations, including Naval Station Great Lakes, as backup quarantine locations for travelers passing through O'Hare International Airport.

Each quarantine location would hold up to 20 people for observation, with federal health officials responsible for their care, security and transportation, according to a statement from Raymond Leung, the base's commanding officer.

Naval personnel will not be in direct contact with those under quarantine and will avoid contact with those supporting the evacuees, Leung told service members, civilians and their families.

"While we do not have a timeline or any confirmation at this time of any personnel arriving to Great Lakes, my team is well postured to support the DoD and HHS," Leung said.

A unoccupied barracks on the base has been identified as a suitable location for a quarantine site, according to Public Affairs Officer John Sheppard. The recently refurbished building has 40 rooms.

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If people infected with the virus are identified, Leung said HHS will be responsible for taking them to area hospitals and making sure no one who is ill is transferred to any Defense Department facilities. Military personnel are following the Pentagon's memo "Force Health Protection Guidance for the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak" to reduce the risk from the Wuhan coronavirus, he added.

"Outbreaks like this can naturally cause concern," Leung said. "I want to ensure everyone in our Great Lakes family that we are prepared should we be selected to receive our fellow Americans."