Anniston city officials on Monday said they have received further assurances from federal officials that a plan to bring Americans infected with the coronavirus to a federal facility in the city has been abandoned.

Mayor Jack Draper said that moves over the weekend to prevent the plan by local officials were motivated by concerns about inadequate preparation for such a move, not fear.

Here is AL.com’s complete coverage of the plan to bring coronavirus patients to Alabama

“These are our fellow citizens,” he said. “We have concern for these evacuees. It had more to do with a lack of any concrete plan.”

City and state officials held an 11 a.m. joint news conference on the situation.

Joint press conference on coronavirus plan in Calhoun County. Posted by al.com on Monday, February 24, 2020

The Anniston City Council had planned to meet this morning to approve potential legal action to block a plan local officials learned about on Saturday to bring evacuees to the Center for Domestic Preparedness, a federal installation at the old Fort McClellan. However, assurances from federal officials, the Department of Health and Human Services and Gov. Kay Ivey were that no evacuees would be coming. So the council took no action.

The CDP trains first responders from around the country in dealing with chemical, biological and natural disasters. As Draper noted, more than 300 people are expected today on the CDP campus to train. However, local officials were concerned when they first heard about the plan abruptly Saturday with little preparation for how to deal with any needs locally. On Sunday, the Calhoun County Commission approved a plan to seek legal action to halt evacuation until receiving more guidance from federal officials.

Draper said officials were told the evacuees were from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan during an outbreak of coronavirus. The evacuees tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, but are either asymptomatic or have mild flu-like symptoms. They would be coming from facilities in California and Texas, Draper said, though officials were never given an idea of how many might be coming.

Despite rumors, Draper said there are no patients in Calhoun County.

What concerned local officials was what steps might be taken once evacuees arrived. For example, if an evacuee, or CDP worker, needed medical care, would they be taken to one of Anniston’s two local hospitals? Draper said neither had been consulted before the announcement.

Officials also said the CDP offers training for dealing with pathogens but is not a quarantine facility.

“It’s a unique training facility, and we’re thankful that it’s there,” he said.