More planes carrying Americans evacuated from Wuhan to arrive this week

The U.S. is expecting several planes this week carrying American evacuees from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the growing coronavirus outbreak. 

Two planes landed Wednesday in California and two more will land Thursday at airbases in Texas and Nebraska, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The passengers will be quarantined for 14 days at airbases in those states. 

“We expect to see additional cases of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. among returning travelers as well as their close contacts,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. 

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has remained at 11 throughout the week. But Messonnier said it’s too soon to determine whether the virus has slowed down. 

“We don’t think there is any sign this has stopped. I think it’s premature to comment on whether it has slowed down,” she said. 

“I do believe we have a window of opportunity now to prepare the U.S. in case there is a broader spread of this outside of China and a broader spread of this in the United States.” 

Of the 11 confirmed cases in the U.S., nine of the patients had recently traveled to China. Two other patients had contracted the viruses through spouses who had been to China. More than 24,000 cases have been confirmed in China, in addition to 200 infections in 28 other countries, including the U.S. 

Updated at 4:07 pm.