An additional American who was evacuated to the United States from the Diamond Princess cruise ship has been transferred to UNMC/Nebraska Medicine for monitoring for the coronavirus. This person has tested positive for the disease but was originally being monitored in Texas at Lackland Air Force Base.
This individual is the spouse of one of the 13 people who arrived in Omaha for monitoring and treatment Feb. 17. This person will be taken directly to the National Quarantine Unit on the UNMC/Nebraska Medical Center campus.
The landing was handled in similar fashion to previous arrivals, with the plane remaining in an isolated area of Eppley Airfield tarmac, with no involvement with the main passenger terminal.
The addition of this person to the group being monitored at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine brings the total here to 14. Twelve people are being monitored in the National Quarantine Unit, while two are receiving care in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Those numbers reflect one person returning Monday to the National Quarantine Unit after treatment in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Currently 12 people have tested positive for COVID-19 while two remain negative. Those who are negative could leave quarantine March 2 if they remain healthy.
In a statement to the medical center community Monday, Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., and Nebraska Medicine CEO Jim Linder, M.D., said:
“As we have shared in previous communications on this subject, we have the utmost confidence in our teams in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and the National Quarantine Center. These are the right people for the job to help these 14 Americans heal and to provide a vital resource in the global response to this outbreak. We continue to update NebraskaMed.com with updates and answers to common questions about COVID-19 and our role in the response.”