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Source: Jet Carrying Americans from China Outbreak Zone Lands in US

Associated Press

   ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - An airplane that a federal official said was
   evacuating as many as 240 Americans from a Chinese city at the center
   of a virus outbreak has landed in the U.S.

   The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the
   U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, where the latest coronavirus outbreak started,
   and other U.S. citizens. The plane made a refueling stop in Alaska
   before flying on to Southern California, the U.S. Embassy in China has
   said.

   The white cargo plane with red and gold stripes and no passenger
   windows arrived at the mostly desolate North Terminal just after 9:30
   p.m. Tuesday, local time.

   The jetway was extended from the end of the terminal, but it also had
   no windows. Passengers were not visible.

   Media were held in a concourse between the airport's two terminals,
   about 100 yards (91.4 meters) from the plane. Airport workers buzzed
   around the plane after it landed.

   Alaska health officials said a news conference would be held later.

   NewCalifornia destination

   Tuesday night, it was announced that the plane would land at March Air
   Reserve Base in California's Riverside County instead of at Ontario
   International Airport in neighboring San Bernardino County.

   Curt Hagman, an Ontario airport commissioner, said the Centers for
   Disease Control and Prevention announced the diversion.

   "We were prepared but the State Department decided to switch the
   flight" to the airbase, Hagman said.

   Wuhan is the epicenter of a new virus that has sickened thousands and
   killed more than 100, and the official said Tuesday that the plane left
   the city before dawn Wednesday, China time. The official spoke on
   condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak
   publicly.

   In Anchorage, Alaska, passengers were set to go through customs and CDC
   screening.

   "Then they will put them back on the plane and then send them on to
   their final destination," said Jim Szczesniak, manager of the Ted
   Stevens Anchorage International Airport. He didn't know how long it
   would take beyond "hours."

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