A plane carrying over 100 US citizens, who were evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, was set to land at the Ontario International Airport in California's San Bernardino county this week but was diverted to March Air Reserve Base in the nearby city of Riverside, Chairman of San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Curt Hagman said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) A plane carrying over 100 US citizens, who were evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, was set to land at the Ontario International Airport in California's San Bernardino county this week but was diverted to March Air Reserve Base in the nearby city of Riverside, Chairman of San Bernardino County board of Supervisors Curt Hagman said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the official confirmed that the plane was to arrive in California's Ontario via Alaska, where it would make a stop to refuel, according to a video on his Twitter account. The passengers are returning from China as part of a US repatriation effort.
"[Wuhan] flight will be diverting to March Air Reserve Base ...The State Department decided to switch the flight to March Air Reserve Base," Hagman said in a video posted on Twitter.
On Monday, Ontario International Airport, an official repatriation center for the West Coast, said in a press release that it cooperated with its Federal and local partners to develop a flight plan that would allow US officials and citizens to return from China amid the outbreak. According to the plan, to minimize the risk of the virus spread, the airport engaged state health agencies and emergency services to ensure that all necessary health and safety measures were taken.
The previously unknown type of the virus was first detected in December and has since killed over 130 people and infected almost 6,000 others in China, according to the country's National Health Commission. Despite efforts to contain the disease, cases have already been reported in at least 15 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, Vietnam, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
