Grand Princess cruise passengers arrive at Georgia air base for quarantine

ATLANTA - Some of the passengers from a cruise ship in California that carried people infected by the new coronavirus have arrived at an air base in Georgia to begin a two-week quarantine, as Fulton County schools closed for a second day and public events were scrapped. The state's caseload of people with COVID-19 reached 22.

Events being derailed to contain the spread of this coronavirus include an 80th birthday party for civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, which had been planned for a large music hall in downtown Atlanta on March 28. The party was postponed to keep all attendees safe and healthy, Lewis' representatives said in a statement Wednesday.

Georgia's initial quarantine solution for people who test positive but can't stay at home and don't require hospitalization also got its first resident. The person is now staying at Hard Labor Creek State Park, where mobile housing units for quarantine have been set up in one section of the park, Gov. Brian Kemp's office said.

For most people, this coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, but for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. More than 120,000 people have been infected worldwide, with more than 4,300 deaths, but the vast majority recover within weeks. The U.S. tally topped 1,000 cases on Monday, with at least 30 deaths.

The cruise ship passengers arrived early Wednesday at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb County, just northwest of Atlanta, base officials said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. The statement didn't specify the number; they've said previously they were planning for dozens.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have full responsibility for all aspects of the quarantine, and Dobbins' personnel will have no contact with the passengers, the base's statement said. The passengers taken to Dobbins were screened before arrival, and none have been showing symptoms, it said.

The Grand Princess docked at the Port of Oakland on Monday after spending days off the California coast while quarantine plans were made and test kits dropped by military helicopters showed 21 people on board had COVID-19.

Fulton County Schools, one of the nation's largest school districts, closed all schools for a second straight day Wednesday after a teacher who worked at two middle schools was found to have the virus. With about 93,000 students, Fulton County is the largest school district to close nationwide, according to data kept by Education Week.

In Georgia, 22 people have now tested positive for COVID-19, though some tests have yet to be confirmed by the CDC, Kemp said late Tuesday. The cases are from Charlton, Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fayette, Floyd, Fulton, and Polk counties.

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