U.S. coronavirus evacuee from China placed under quarantine order after trying to flee base

(Reuters) – One of 195 Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, to a U.S. air base in California to begin 72 hours of voluntary observation for signs of coronavirus infection was placed under mandatory quarantine after trying to leave the facility, public health officials said on Thursday.

The individual, whose identity was not disclosed, was presented the quarantine order on Wednesday night, hours after arriving at March Air Reserve Base near Los Angeles on a government-chartered flight from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, officials from the Riverside County Public Health Department said.

An agency spokeswoman told Reuters the individual has complied with the order, which requires remaining on the base for the entire 14-day incubation period of the virus, and that no base personnel were exposed to the evacuee in question.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Culver City, Calif.; Editing by Sandra Maler)