195 people released from 2-week quarantine, health officials say no Coronavirus detected

A total of 195 people were released from a 2-week quarantine period Tuesday morning at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County.

An image released from the Riverside County Department of Public Health showed dozens of people throwing their face masks up in the air, as if graduating. Many of them were relieved to know they could finally leave.

Riverside County Public Health officials gathered Tuesday morning to speak on their release.

"They do not need to be tested again, they don’t need additional monitoring. They are not sick, they have done the program that we asked them to do," Riverside County Public Health Officer, Dr. Cameron Kaiser said.

Those passengers boarded busses Tuesday morning from the base. They were held since January 29th, when passengers flew in. They were evacuated from Wuhan China, the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak. Their first stop began in Alaska, where they received their first screening.

“These people were tested, sometimes multiple times, had thermometers pointed at their forehead twice a day, filled out all manner of questionnaires," Dr. Kaiser said.

"The pose no health risk to themselves, to their families, to their places of work, to schools or their communities; no health risk of Novel Coronavirus from these individuals whatsoever," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rear Admiral Dr. Nancy Knight said.

Health officials didn't just focus on reassuring the public about passengers. They say several base employees have been discriminated against because of what is going on, and where they work. They want to make the message clear: those who work at the base are also not at risk.

"We heard another employee was denied housing because she worked at the base," Dr. Knight said.

Knight says all staff was kept completely separate from those who were tested, and that all agencies involved took the proper precautions.