195 Americans released from coronavirus quarantine at air base

The 195 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, last month have now been released from the first mandatory quarantine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ordered in more than 50 years.

The group, which faced numerous health screenings both in China and during their trip and quarantine, has now been “medically cleared,” health officials said Tuesday, clearing the way for them to leave the March Air Reserve Base in Southern California.

“Our guests at March Air Reserve Base are happy to see an official end today to their 14-day quarantine and are looking forward to returning home. We wish them well!” Riverside University Health System – Public Health said via Facebook Tuesday, posting an image of the evacuees gathered together outside, tossing blue face masks into the air.

While the evacuees are glad to see the end of an ordeal that began at the epicenter of a global health emergency, there are also some mixed feelings about disbanding a group that has grown close.

“They’re very excited to go home, and at the same time, we’re kind of sad saying our goodbyes to each other,” evacuee Matthew McCoy, who worked in Wuhan as a theme park designer, told NPR’s Patti Neighmond.

“We’ve all created a family environment here,” McCoy said, adding that many of the evacuees plan to stay in touch through special groups on Skype and other platforms.

McCoy says the group coped with the quarantine as a team, trying to maintain a positive attitude.

“We chose to work together,” he said. “We chose to create classes and things like that. That made it more of a positive outlook. And we all helped each other. It’s better than sitting around sulking and not doing anything.”

There are no confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus among the 195 evacuees, the health system said in a statement disseminated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

“They have completed their final health check this morning, which included their symptom check and their temperature check,” said Rear Admiral Dr. Nancy Knight of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Saying that it’s now safe for the group to rejoin their communities and families, Knight added, “This is a huge celebration for all of us here at March Air Reserve Base.”

Knight also stressed that the completion of the quarantine means that the evacuees have been determined to be entirely free of the virus that has now killed more than 1,000 people in China.