“Others are going to be evacuated, starting imminently, to Air Force bases in the United States,” he said.
“If people are on the plane start to develop symptoms, they’ll be segregated within the plane.”
Those entering the US will undergo a – day quarantine – on top of the time they have already spent confined on the ship.
“And the reason for that,” Dr Fauci added, “is that the degree of transmissibility, on that cruise ship, is essentially akin to being in a hotspot. ”
Some of the Americans have declined to be evacuated by plane, preferring to wait until the ship quarantine comes to an end on 30 February.
Passenger Matt Smith, a lawyer, said he would not want to travel on a bus to the plane with possibly infected people.
Other evacuation flights will repatriate residents of Israel, Hong Kong and Canada.
What are the new Hubei measures?
People in the province of 68 million have been ordered to stay at home, though they will be allowed to leave in an emergency. In addition, a single person from each household will be allowed to leave the building every three days to buy food and essential items.
On housing estates, one entrance will be kept open. It will be guarded to ensure that only residents can enter or leave.
All other businesses will stay closed, except chemists, hotels , food shops and medical services.
There will be a ban on the use of private cars, but vehicles used for the delivery of essential goods are exempt.
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