MARIETTA, GA — Days after testing positive for coronavirus, a North Carolina couple was allowed to fly home from a metro Atlanta quarantine facility, their daughter told WSB-TV.
The couple stayed at the Old Radisson hotel in Marietta, which was used as a federal quarantine center for about a week, the TV station said.
They were passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, who were flown into Marietta’s Dobbins Air Reserve Base on March 12 for a two-week quarantine.
The first group from the cruise ship, which included 34 Georgians, arrived at Dobbins on March 11. They were taken to their homes to self-quarantine. The air base is located at 1291 Cobb Parkway, which is about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta.
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The couple, who are 75 and 85 years old, were released on Friday. They had positive coronavirus tests a week before the cruise line booked a flight for them back home to North Carolina on Friday, WSB-TV reports.
Their daughter, who said her mother had a fever two days before the trip, was upset they were allowed to fly home on a commercial flight, rather than a charter flight.
“I’m fuming because I don’t understand why they’re allowed to go on a commercial flight,” their daughter, Lauri Lyn Hodges, told the TV station. “I mean, they treated it initially like they were a biohazard threat to the community and you’d never know that a week later, they’re like, ‘You just hop on whatever commercial airline we can get you worked up with and expose the public.'”
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An employee of the Department of Health and Human Services told WSB-TV that “anyone released from federal quarantine meets Center for Disease Prevention and Control guidelines,” which include:
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Department of Health and Human Services said they work with states and have contacted North Carolina about the incoming positive cases.
Meanwhile, the Princess cruise line told the TV station that “they make flight arrangements with directives from the federal government.”
“With regards to quarantine processes, Princess has followed the directives by the CDC and Health and Human Services,” the statement continued. “Any questions about those processes, procedures and decisions should be directed to Health and Human Services.”
All cruise ship passengers were medically screened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WXIA reported. The CDC is responsible for the quarantine operation, according to Dobbins officials.
Procedures set by the Department of Health & Human Services were in place to transport anyone who became ill during the quarantine period to a local hospital, according to the Air Force Reserve. Dobbins Air Reserve Base employees didn’t have physical contact with the passengers.
According to the state, there are 151 beds available at Dobbins and 190 beds at the National Guard center for the passengers.