More Coronavirus Evacuees Headed to San Antonio Air Force Base

Around 100 passengers from a cruise ship that was carrying people infected with coronavirus are headed to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for quarantine, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Some 90 passengers being evacuated from the Grand Princess docked in Oakland, California are Texas residents, Gov. Greg Abbott's office said in a statement Sunday. They're expected to stay on base for the 14-day quarantine period required by the Centers for Disease Control.

In a Sunday night tweet, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said city officials had received assurances all of the evacuees coming to Lackland do not have symptoms.

Last night, we received word that the federal government has opted to quarantine evacuees from the Grand Princess cruise ship at Lackland AFB.

Full update: pic.twitter.com/qnApA2VATs

— Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@Ron_Nirenberg) March 8, 2020

Last week, Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff declared a state of public health emergency to curb travel for evacuees from a separate cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, who were quarantined at the base.

Even though those evacuees had finished their two-week quarantine, Nirenberg and Wolff wanted them transported directly to San Antonio International Airport for flights home to minimize potential exposure. Local leaders also expressed concern that evacuees had been transported from the base to local hospitals for testing.

In comments to Texas Public Radio, Wolff said local officials received better communication about the new influx of evacuees from the CDC.

"[The new group of passengers] will stay on the base and not be transported around the city of San Antonio," Wolff said, "I personally feel a lot more confident about it."

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