Local leaders in Alabama say they will try to stop Americans who tested positive for coronavirus and evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship from being quarantined at a facility in Anniston.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday announced plans to quarantine the evacuees at the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. Elleen Kane, an HHS spokeswoman, told AL.com the evacuees will be transported next week.

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

The Anniston City Council and Calhoun County Commission on Sunday will convene emergency meetings about seeking court intervention to stop the federal government’s plans . The county commission will also consider declaring a local emergency.

The city council will meet at 10 a.m. at the Anniston City Meeting Center. The commission will meet at 2 p.m. at the Calhoun County Offices. The Oxford City Council will meet at 3 p.m. in support of the leaders in Anniston and Calhoun County.

Local leaders said they were “completely caught off guard" by the HHS announcement, which they learned about on Saturday afternoon through local news media.

Local officials announced Saturday night that they will ask a court to stop the transportation of the evacuees.

At a press conference earlier Saturday, Tim Hodges, chairman of the Calhoun County Commission, referenced a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge to halt the transportation of anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus to Costa Mesa, California. City leaders there had asked the court to intervene.

“That may be something that we need to do on behalf of not only Anniston but the entire county,” Hodges said, “because whether this happens or not or we can stop it or not, it can’t happen this quick."

Local officials said they learned of the federal government’s plan to transport the evacuees to Anniston through local news media around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. They said they were not consulted by the government beforehand.

“This was a decision by the federal government — and the federal government solely,” Anniston Mayor Jack Draper said at the press conference.

Those who will be quarantined have tested positive for coronavirus, according to federal health officials, though they either don’t have symptoms or have mild flu-like symptoms. Coronavirus can cause mild to severe symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“The federal government has assured us these patients will not have any impact on our local community, and that no one is at risk,” Draper said.

U.S. Rep Mike Rogers, a Republican of Anniston, said he spoke to President Donald Trump about the situation and both men agree transporting the evacuees to Alabama is the “wrong decision.”

“I will continue to work with President Trump & HHS to find the best facilities that meet the needs for those Americans that have been exposed to this dangerous virus,” Rogers said on Twitter. “The CDP (Center for Domestic Preparedness) is not that place.”

Under the HHS plan, evacuees will stay in an area separate from the FEMA Center’s training participants, officials said. HHS said it will provide the evacuees with basic medical care, and they will remain at the Center until being medically cleared.

“Any of the evacuees who become seriously ill will be transported to pre-identified hospitals for medical care,” says a news release from HHS officials.

The passengers were evacuated back to the U.S. by the federal government from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Local leaders in Alabama said they don’t know how many of the passengers are being sent to Anniston.

As of Saturday, coronavirus cases have been reported in 28 countries, including the U.S., The New York Times reported. In the U.S., at least 34 people — 18 of them evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship — were infected as of Friday, according to the Times. President Trump was “furious” and surprised that Americans evacuated from the cruise ship were being flown back to the U.S. earlier this week, despite testing positive for the coronavirus, The Washington Post reported.

All of the U.S. cases are linked to international travel, the Times reported. As of Saturday, the virus was not spreading in U.S. communities, according to the CDC.

The overwhelming majority of coronavirus cases — more than 76,000 — have been reported in China, where the virus originated in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, the Times reported. Of those cases in China, more than 2,300 have been deadly.

Read more: What you need to know about FEMA’s Anniston facility

This story was last updated at 10:56 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020.