
An evacuation flight bringing 195 Americans home from the Chinese city at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak has landed at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California.

The plane chartered by the US government to fly diplomats and private citizens - 195 evacuees and six crewmembers - back from Wuhan touched down at the air base just after 8am PST on Wednesday.

Officials in hazmat suits were seen approaching the plane on the tarmac before passengers - including a number of small children - began filing out and stepping into awaiting buses.

In a media call on Wednesday, Dr Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the passengers have been 'screened, monitored and evaluated' for signs of coronavirus since landing.

Dr Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, also added the passengers are voluntarily under quarantine for 72 hours.

Prior to this, passenger underwent four screenings over the course of the journey - two before departure in Wuhan and another two during a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

The plane was originally scheduled to fly to Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California, but was diverted to the air base 25 miles away without explanation late on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile in China, the coronavirus death toll has risen to 169 as of Wednesday evening and several countries - including the US and UK - have advised against non-essential travel to the nation.

More than 7,000 people have been sickened by the deadly strain in at least 18 countries and territories amid an international effort to stop the spread.

Passengers are seen deplaning after arriving at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California, on an evacuation flight from the coronavirus outbreak epicenter in Wuhan on Wednesday morning

There were 195 passengers - including a number of small children - and six crewmembers onboard. They filed out of the plane and stepped into awaiting buses (left and right)

Officials in hazmat suits met the flight when it landed at the air base just after 8am PST. Pictured: People in hazmat suits are seen outside of the Kalitta Air plane

The flight touched down at the air base (left and right) just after 8am PST after stopping to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday night

Dr Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters on Wednesday that the passengers have been 'screened, monitored and evaluated' for signs of coronavirus. Pictured: The plane touches down at March Air Reserve Base in

The passengers are currently under a voluntarily 72-hour quarantine on base. Pictured: Airport officials wears masks and full hazmat suits as they unloaded baggage from the plane's cargo hold

The white cargo plane with red and gold stripes left Wuhan before dawn on Wednesday in China and arrived at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport just after 9.30pm on Tuesday.

Dr Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, gave an early morning news conference after the plane took off from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport just after 2am.

'For many of us directly involved in this, it's become a moving and uplifting experience,' Zink said. 'The whole plane erupted into cheers when the crew welcomed them back to the United States.'

State Health Commissioner Adam Crum called the successful screenings 'the best possible outcome'.

'We wish these passengers the best of luck as they complete their journeys home and I am deeply grateful to everyone who came together to assist us in helping with this repatriation effort,' Crum said in a press release.

The state had initially said the plane could carry up to 240 passengers, and Zink said they were prepared for that number. 'At the end of the day, 201 passengers loaded and 201 passengers left Alaska,' she said, noting that one passenger received medical attention for a minor injury that happened before boarding the airplane in Wuhan.

The CDC later corrected this, stating that 195 passengers were evacuees and the remaining six were crewmembers.

Medical personnel were on the plane to monitor passengers for symptoms of the virus, which include fever, cough, and in more severe cases shortness of breath or pneumonia.

The white cargo plane with red and gold stripes left Wuhan before dawn on Wednesday in China and arrived at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport just after 9.30pm on Tuesda. Pictured: The charter flight from Wuhan arrives in Alaska

A pilot wearing a protective suit parks a cargo plane at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport on Tuesday

The north terminal at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, where a flight plane carrying U.S. citizens being evacuated from Wuhan, China, made a refueling stop late Tuesday night

The evacuation was originally scheduled to fly to Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California, but was diverted to the March Air Reserve Base (pictured) 25 miles away without explanation late on Tuesday night

The US consulate in Wuhan began reaching out to all Americans registered as living in the locked-down city last week to offer them a seat on the rescue flight after Washington gained approval for the operation from China's Foreign Ministry and other government agencies.

China has cut off access to Wuhan and 16 other cities in Hubei province to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further. In addition to the United States, countries including Japan and South Korea have also planned evacuations.

There are said to be 1,000 Americans living in Wuhan, meaning the majority of citizens would be left behind.

Ahead of the flight, the State Department said priority would be given to diplomats and staff from the US consulate in Wuhan, followed by 'individuals at a greater risk from coronavirus', according to the State Department.

Wisconsin father Samuel Roth took to Twitter Monday, pleading: 'My family is currently in lockdown in Wuhan. When will my wife and two daughters, one of whom is only 10-months-old, be offered seats on the chartered flight?'

The CDC and Department of Health and Human Service says screening will take place at 20 airports, for the deadly coronavirus that has sickened five patients in the US and three in Canada

More than 7,000 people have been infected globally with the virus traced to a seafood market in the central city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife and 169 people have died

The State Department announced (pictured) that it is evacuating US citizens from Wuhan on Tuesday

Travelers wearing masks exit the China Airlines flight at Ontario after arriving from Taipei

Ontario fire department paramedics watch as China Airlines flight 24 arrives at Ontario International Airport after arriving from Taipei

Sam's wife, Daisy, and daughters Adalynn and Abigail, flew to China last week to spend Lunar New Year with Daisy's family in Wuhan. Shortly thereafter, the city was put in lockdown, leaving the Roth family stranded.

Now 'there's no telling when they will be able to get out,' Sam wrote on Facebook.

Sources earlier said the US could suspend flights from China to the States amid the outbreak. CNBC reported that the White House has told airline executives that it's considering suspending flights.

Government officials reportedly made phone calls to executives at major US carriers Tuesday and said a temporary ban is possible.

United Airlines, which has around a dozen daily flights, on Tuesday said it would cancel more flights to China and Hong Kong as the outbreak worsens.

Cases of coronavirus have surpassed 6,000 worldwide and the number of deaths has increased 24 percent from what was reported Monday. Eight of those cases are in North America including the third Canadian case which was confirmed on Tuesday.

British Columbia's first victim is a man in his 40s, who 'travels regularly to China for work and was in Wuhan city on his most recent trip,' and developed symptoms after returning to Vancouver earlier this month.

The North American cases include five diagnosed in the US, where screening has been expanded to 20 airports, authorities from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the CDC said in a press conference on Tuesday.

'Right now, there is no spread of this virus in our communities at home,' Dr Robert Redfield, director of the CDC told reporters.

'The coming days and weeks are likely to bring more cases including the possibility of person-to-person spread. Our goal is to contain this virus and prevent sustained spread of the virus in our country.'

Five people in the US have fallen ill already and officials say there is evidence of human-to-human transmission, although new concerns have been raised that the virus can spread even when patients don't have symptoms.

Encouragingly, Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said the agency is studying a 'candidate vaccine,' modeled after an experimental one developed amid the 2003 outbreak of SARS, a coronavirus cousin of the current infection.

But the first stage of human testing isn't expected to begin for several months.

He added that several drugs are being used in China to try treat coronavirus patients under 'compassionate use,' but there is no proof of the efficacy that the medications will work.

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday that they will begin trying to identify sick passengers from China at 15 other 'quarantine stations.' Pictured, left to right: CDC director Robert Redfield, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Nancy Messonnier from the CDC and Anthony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health at a press conference on Tuesday

During the press conference, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the US was urging more cooperation from China with international health organizations.

'We are urging China - more cooperation and transparency are the most important steps you can take toward a more effective response,' he told reporters.

Azar said that the US had tried three times to send assistance to China, but that the government declined.

'On January the sixth, we offered to send a CDC team to China that could assist with these public health efforts,' said Azar.

'I reiterated that offer when I spoke to China's minister of health on Monday, and it was reiterated again via the World Health Organization's leadership today in Beijing.'

As Azar made these statements, the WHO revealed that China has agreed to allow the agency to send international experts there 'as soon as possible.'

In a tweet, the WHO said its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the two men discussed 'collaboration on containment measure, public health measures in other cities and provinces, and conducting further studies on the severity and transmissibility' of the virus.

First reported in China in December 2019, the strain, known as 2019-nCov, is believed to have emerged from illegally traded wildlife at a seafood market in Wuhan, a city 700 miles south of the capital of Beijing.

Aside from China and the US, cases have been confirmed in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the UAE and Vietnam.

Cases are also suspected in Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines and the UK.

China has urged its own citizens to delay trips abroad, with at least 18 countries and territories having confirmed cases of the disease.

The United Arab Emirates reported the first known case in the Middle East on Wednesday.

British Airways was the first major airline to announce a total suspension of flights to and from China, citing the travel advice of the UK foreign office.

'We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,' the airline said in a statement.

Indonesia's Lion Air Group, Southeast Asia's biggest carrier by fleet size, then said it would halt services to and from China from Saturday 'until further notice'.

Later on Wednesday, Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Lufthansa all announced that they were temporarily suspending flights to China to varying degrees.

Meanwhile Kazakhstan, an important China trade partner, announced it would halt cross-border passenger train traffic, suspend regular flights between the neighbors, and stop issuing visas to Chinese citizens over the coming days.

Officials say the risk to the general public is low but that it may be able to spread from human to human before symptoms appear. Pictured: Members of a military medical team head for Wuhan Jinyintan on Sunday

Several drugs are being tried to treat people with coronavirus but there is no evidence of their efficacy. Pictured: Medical staff wearing protective clothing to protect against a previously unknown coronavirus arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital

The National Institutes of Health is working on a vaccine, but warn it will be months before one will be tested on humans. Pictured: Paramilitary officers wearing face masks at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on Monday

HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the US has offered to send medical experts to China three times, but the government has declined. Pictured: Medical staff in Wuhan wear protective clothing and escort a patient (second from left) to a hospital

Travelers are screened on a thermographic monitor at the Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport in Aceh Besar Regency in Indonesia for coronavirus on Monday

On Tuesday, the WHO said China was finally allowing international experts to visit 'as soon as possible.' Pictured: Patients undergo treatment at Wuhan Central Hospital on Saturday

RED TAPE COULD SLOW DOWN TESTING PROCESS FOR CORONAVIRUS IN US

Red tape could slow down the testing process for 168 possible American cases of the coronavirus across at least 26 states and dozens of others in the future.

Because the CDC's laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia, is the only place in the country currently equipped with a blood test that accurately diagnoses the virus, the true number of infected people could be higher.

The federal health lab's test is fast - taking just four to six hours - but it's prioritizing only the sickest-seeming patients.

So far, there have been 68 patients confirmed negative, but the testing process could be bottlenecked until the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can work around the bureaucracy that prevents the test from being distributed throughout the country.

To that end, last week, the CDC requested emergency authorization from the FDA for the tests to be sent to the states.

'Part of the delay is the sample getting to CDC, and entirely one of the reasons we are focusing on the possibility of getting those tests out closer to the patients so the results can become available more quickly,' Dr Messonnier, said in a call to reporters last week.

But there may be glimmers of hope. On Tuesday, Dr Messonier said the CDC hope to have the tests more locally available in a week or two.

The CDC says it is currently prioritizing cases that are the most severe, meaning there may be early-stage cases that have fallen to 'back of the line' and patients that may be contagious and spread the virus before getting an official diagnosis.

Despite health officials in the US saying the risk to Americans is low, a Morning Consult poll from last week found that 74 percent of Americans are as concerned about an outbreak as they were about Ebola in 2014.

Members of the medical team communicate with a coronavirus patient at Hankou Hospital in Wuhan on Monday

Police patrol a neighborhood in Wuhan, China s the virus continues to spread around the globe

View of an empty Sanlitun area after the Chinese government discouraged public gatherings due to the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing, China on Monday

Experts say the difficulty of containing the coronavirus is that so many patients have mild, cold-like symptoms and don't realize they have the infectio

CASES REPORTED ACROSS SEVERAL US STATES

It appears that all of the US patients currently awaiting test results showed symptoms consistent with the virus - such as fever, cough and runny nose - had either visited Wuhan recently or were in contact with someone who visited the city.

CONFIRMED US CORONAVIRUS CASES 1. Man in Washington state The first US coronavirus case was confirmed on Tuesday, January 21. The patient - a Washington man in his 30s who lives in Snohomish County - has been quarantined at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, outside of Seattle. The man had traveled by himself from Wuhan but did not visit any of the markets at the epicenter of the outbreak. He reportedly had no symptoms upon arrival in the US on January 15, but after reading about the outbreak online and developing symptoms, he contacted his doctor. The patient allegedly sought treatment on January 16 and was tested the following day. He is said to be in stable condition. He is being treated in a bio-containment room by a few staff members and a robot to limit the spread of the virus. The robot has a stethoscope attached to take the man's vitals and a large screen so doctors can communicate with him, Dr George Diaz, chief of the infectious disease division at the Providence Regional Medical Center, told CNN. 'The nursing staff in the room move the robot around so we can see the patient in the screen, talk to him,' Dr Diaz told the network. Officials have also been monitoring more than a dozen people the man reportedly came into contact with in the five days between when he arrived back in the US and when he was diagnosed. 2. Woman in Chicago The CDC confirmed the second US case on Friday - a 60-year-old woman in Chicago, Illinois, who had traveled to Wuhan in late December. The woman, who has not been named, arrived at O'Hare International Airport on January 13 but did not begin experiencing symptoms until several days later. Health officials say the woman appears to be 'well' and in stable condition. The unidentified patient is currently in isolation at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. 3. Patient in California Orange County Health Care Agency announced that a patient in California had tested positive for novel coronavirus. The agency said the patient had traveled from Wuhan and reached out to the health care agency prior to being diagnosed. They were given guidance to avoiding exposing the public to the virus while waiting for test results. 'The individual has now been transported to a local hospital and is in isolation in good condition,' added the agency who did not identify the patient. 'In consultation with the CDC and the California Department of Public Health, the HCA is following up directly with all individuals who have had close contact with the case and are at risk of infection.' 4. Los Angeles County Case Health officials say that the Los Angeles County patient, had recently returned from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said that the infected person presented themselves for testing after feeling unwell, and are 'currently receiving medical treatment'. 5. Arizona Case Officials confirmed a fifth case in Maricopa County, Arizona. No other information was immediately reported about the patient. Advertisement

Those patients are believed to have all been isolated either in hospitals or in their homes to reduce the risk of exposing others.

US health officials warned on Friday that the flu or other respiratory illnesses could complicate efforts to identify additional cases.

'We're really working to understand the full spectrum of the illness with this coronavirus,' Dr Messonnier said at a briefing.

'The problem with this time of year is it's cold and flu season and there are lots of cold and respiratory infections circulating.'

The CDC recommended that anyone with symptoms contact a health-care provider before seeking treatment so the appropriate precautionary measures can be put in place.

Two people from Minnesota and three people from Michigan are currently being tested.

The patients from Michigan have reportedly agreed to remain in isolation until their tests results return, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Also being monitored are two college students, one from Texas A&M University and another from Tennessee Tech University.

The Tennessee Department of Health said it decided to test the TTU student because he or she had 'very mild symptoms' and had a recent concerning travel history that met the criteria for testing.

No results have been confirmed and the student is being kept in isolation.

For the Texas student, Brazos County Health District officials said the male had 'mild' symptoms that resembled the coronavirus and had traveled to Wuhan recently.

Results of tests will be announced to the public if the patient tests positive for coronavirus.

Officials said the patient is currently being kept isolated at home and that it is safe for student to attend classes.

'This patient did travel to the area of concern in China within the last 14 days and thankfully had mild upper respiratory symptoms, and he was improving,' said Dr Eric Wilke with the Brazos County Health Department.

'I believe the time the patient presented at the emergency department, it was more out of concern,' said Dr Eric Wilke with the Brazos County Health Department.

Medical supply stores around the Brazos Valley, where Texas A&M is located, are reportedly experiencing a medical mask shortage after the possible case was reported.

Genese Smith, who works at MediCare Equipment in Bryan, just a few miles off campus, told KBTX that an influx of customers came to the store looking for masks on Thursday.

'Within about 30 minutes of word getting out, we started getting phone calls asking if we have the masks, what kind of masks did we have, and how many we had available,' Smith said. 'Quite a few people started coming in, asking, and purchasing.'

Smith said the store typically stocks about 50 masks but has already ordered more.

Other stores in the area, including Texas A&M's Health Services Department, are also awaiting new shipments of masks after their current stocks ran out, per KBTX.

In California, Los Angeles International Airport has been on high alert after a passenger who arrived on Wednesday was sent to hospital after he or she appeared to be ill.

The unnamed passenger arrived on an American Airlines flight from Mexico City around 7pm, CBS Los Angeles reported.

However, it remains unclear if the passenger is from Mexico City, or if they originated from another city.

Several people in the state, particularly in Alameda County and the Bay Area, are also being examined to see if they have the virus that resembles SARS.

On Friday, North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services also reported that it is investigating a case.

The suspected patient arrived at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on January 23 after having traveled to Wuhan but not to the seafood market to which many early cases have been linked, according to a news release.

Four other potential cases are also under investigation in New York state.

In Colorado, a patient with respiratory symptoms was placed in isolation at Lakewood's Centura - St Anthony Hospital after they were found to have recently traveled to Wuhan.

In Washington state, where the first US case was confirmed, the Northwest Chinese school in Bellevue called off weekend classes for preschoolers through adults amid concerns about the virus.

'We take the health of our students and families very seriously and think that this is the best course of action,' officials wrote in an email announcing the cancelled classes.

On the University of Washington's Seattle campus, a Chinese student association has been distributing face masks and asking students to contribute to efforts to send supplies such as face masks and protective suits to China.

Public health entry screenings began Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, John F Kennedy International Airport in New York and San Francisco International Airport.

The CDC has expanded screenings to 20 airports total.

At least 2,400 people have been screened from Hubei province and the CDC is continuing to track airline passengers who took connecting flights now that direct flights are no longer available.

The screening begins with a survey to determine whether a traveler shows possible coronavirus symptoms and whether they visited the meat or seafood markets in Wuhan that have been tied to the outbreak.

If they appear to have any symptoms associated with coronavirus, travelers are taken to on-site triage for further examination and a temperature check.

On Monday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the city will be activating its emergency operations center in case any coronavirus patients are confirmed to be in the Bay Area, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

Screenings are also in place at Los Angeles International Airport. A staff member is seen wearing a face mask at LAX on Frida

Dramatic video showed people collapsing on sidewalks in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak originated

Preliminary research suggests the virus was passed to humans from snakes or bats. But Chinese health officials report that cases have been caused by human-to-human transmission. Pictured, left and right: The coronavirus strain