Judge Extends Hold On Plan To Move As Many As 50 Coronavirus Patients From Travis AFB To Costa Mesa
COSTA MESA (CBS13) — A judge in Costa Mesa has blocked the transfer of coronavirus patients from Travis Air Force Base to Costa Mesa for another week.
On Friday, the feds planned to transfer as many as 50 coronavirus patients from the base to a facility in Costa Mesa over the weekend, but U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton granted city leaders an emergency injunction to block the transfer after city leaders filed a court papers saying they were not notified in advance of the plans and wanted assurances an adequate study had been done determine if the site is safe to house the patients, some of which were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Officials said the 50 patients that were supposed to be moved had tested positive for the coronavirus on state-owned land.
Leaders with the CDC at Travis Air Force Base said in total, 53 people in the country have been diagnosed with the virus, and 36 of those are people who were exposed on the cruise ship. Currently, 15 patients are being treated in local northern California hospitals, but no one effected is on base at Travis.
Additionally, the CDC said they have no reason to move anyone at this time.
"Right now we're not looking at anybody from Travis. This was preparatory work in case a batch of tests came back positive and we had to find a place to put people into a potential isolation procedure with a possible coronavirus test. At this point, we don't have any need to move anybody," CDC spokesperson Scott Pauley said.
The CDC says there are still 155 people quarantined at Travis, but none have tested positive or shown symptoms.
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Sacramento County on Friday announced its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus. The Department of Public Health says the patient returned from China on February 2, but was only recently diagnosed after developing symptoms. The patient is now under strict isolation in their home.