San Antonio city officials confirmed that an unspecified number of Texans have been placed in a 14-day “self quarantine” in their homes on Sunday.
A News 4 San Antonio report claims the quarantine began at 1o a.m. on Sunday, and will continue over the next two weeks. The “self quarantine” does not refer to a voluntary restriction, but rather an agreement not to leave their homes in lieu of being detained elsewhere.
These unnamed Texans join 91 other Americans in the county being monitored for coronavirus. The others are being isolated at Lackland Air Force Base after their flights home from China last week. Metro Health Director Dawn Emerick said that while the self-quarantined have shown no symptoms thus far, Metro Health continues to monitor them.
“Per the President’s public health emergency declaration, and consistent with state and CDC protocols, the travelers are in a 14-day self quarantine since their departure from China and they are not showing symptoms,” she said in a statement. “They will monitor their temperature and check for signs or symptoms and report to Metro Health twice daily.”
Currently, there are approximately 37,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, with over 900 deaths attributed to the growing epidemic. The United Kingdom has activated emergency powers in the face of the “imminent threat.”
Meanwhile, a Chinese journalist has reportedly been forced into containment after he exposed China’s ongoing efforts to restrict vital information leaking from their national lockdown.