SAN ANTONIO – Thursday marked the end of the 14-day quarantine for the first group of coronavirus evacuees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland from China.
Ninety members of the first group of evacuees were medically cleared and released.
A spokesperson with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said evacuees chose their own methods for leaving the area. Some rented cars and others headed to the airport, the spokesperson said.
The one evacuee among that group who tested positive for COVID-19 last week -- the only confirmed case in Texas --was treated at Methodist Hospital | Texsan in Balcones Heights.
The hospital sent out the following statement Thursday:
We are pleased to announce the patient who tested positive for COVID-19 has been treated and transferred from Methodist Hospital | Texsan. Due to patient privacy, no other information will be provided.
We would like to express our immense gratitude to the physicians, nurses and staff for their professionalism and compassion when caring for this patient in a challenging time, as well as the patients and families at Methodist Hospital | Texsan.
JBSA-Lackland, Methodist Hospital Texsan, and the Texas Center for Infectious Disease are the only local facilities being used by the federal government in response to the outbreak.
A total of 235 people were quarantined at JBSA-Lackland, but after the release of dozens Thursday, 144 remain. Those who are still under quarantine arrived Monday from the evacuated Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
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