Category Archives: Travis Air Force Base

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Travis Air Force Base

VIDEO: Quarantined Passengers Critical of Travis Air Force Base ‘Camp Corona’

KPIX5 CBS SF Bay Area, March 13, 2020

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE (CBS Sacramento) — People inside the Travis Air Force Base Coronavirus quarantine are describing a poorly-planned operation they call “Camp Corona.”

Robert Archer, 65, and Robert Graham, 61, are two of the 800 people quarantined at Westwind Inn on Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. Asked how they would describe what they were going through right now, and they both picked the same word — “hell.”

“We’re surrounded by chainlink fences and there’s armed guards outside,” Graham said.

Besides describing stark surroundings, the pair also described a scene inside with little regard for isolation. Photos show the quarantined passengers sharing common space, lining up together for food and drinks, and sitting at tables in close quarters.

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Coronavirus, Covid 19, Travis Air Force Base

First person account of troubled quarantine at Travis Air Force Base

Two Crockett residents were on the cruise ship, now quarantined at Travis, can’t get tested

Here is a first-person account of bureaucratic delays and health care failures from Salli Spoon, who is quarantined at Travis AFB and wrote to Donald Zampa:

SALLI SPOON of Crocket CA, now at Travis AFB:

“I and my fellow quarantined passengers need your help.

All of us have been exposed to coronavirus. We are in federal custody at the Travis Air Force base. We have yet to be tested for coronavirus. We were first told we would be tested before we disembarked. We were not. Then we were told we would be tested upon our arrival at Travis. We were not tested. Yesterday morning I asked when we would be tested. I was told that we would be tested only if we requested testing. I requested testing. Yesterday evening, I asked when I would be tested, per my request. I was told I would be assigned a “case worker” in two or three days. This person would answer all my questions.

In the meantime, a Canadian from the Grand Princess was tested when this person arrived in Toronto. This person tested positive.

Our population at Travis is older and, many, have underlying health issues. Testing would let us know if there are any active cases and would establish a baseline to work from. This would let the government know that when they release us that we would not be carrying the virus into the general population.

Please, wherever you live, call you Senators and congresspeople let them know what is going on here. Please ask them to put pressure on get more testing kits;

Thank you for your help.”

[Mr. Zampa has sent this to Congressman Mike Thompson]

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA, Travis Air Force Base

Coronavirus news from Travis Air Force Base

UPDATE: See VIDEO: Quarantined Passengers Critical of Travis Air Force Base ‘Camp Corona’ and First person account of troubled quarantine at Travis Air Force Base

Travis upgrades health protocols amid Covid-19 spread off base

The Fairfield Daily Republic, By Glen Faison

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE — The base implemented an enhanced health alert Wednesday as a result of the new coronavirus situation in communities outside the base and said there were no confirmed cases on base.

The move by Travis officials to implement what they call Health Protection Condition Bravo follows a public health emergency declaration Feb. 27 at the base. Solano County declared a public health emergency the previous day.

“This is a moderate health alert in response to public health risks in the local community,” Tonya A. Racasner, 60th Air Mobility Wing deputy chief of public affairs, said in a prepared statement. “The decision to elevate the HPCON is independent of quarantine operations currently taking place on Travis (Air Force Base), and directly correlates to the evolving situation in the local area.”

Racasner in the statement Wednesday said the base’s action was also taken in response to “the sustained transmission of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the surrounding community.”

The move comes two weeks after a Vacaville women became the first patient-to-patient or community-spread case of Covid-19 in the country that was not attributable to travel or close exposure to someone with the disease.

She arrived Feb. 15 at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville with flu-like symptoms and was transferred Feb. 19 to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento once her condition worsened. She was tested Feb. 23 for the new coronavirus, which causes Covid-19. Test results came back positive Feb. 26.

Testing protocols at the time from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention limited who and under what conditions people could be tested for the novel coronavirus. Only a limited number of test kits were available in California at the time. The CDC has since loosened its protocols for testing and additional test kits have arrived in the state.

Travis has served as a quarantine site for several waves of U.S. residents who repatriated to the U.S. from China and Japan. Hundreds of passengers – all California residents – from the Grand Princess cruise ship have arrived this week to begin 14 days in quarantine at the Westwind Inn.

The California Office of Emergency Services announced Wednesday that up to 120 California passengers from the cruise ship will be housed at a vacant hotel in San Carlos because they are exhibiting mild symptoms that may be from the new coronavirus but do not require hospitalization. Another 24 passengers were previously sent to Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, also because they were not free of symptoms.

None of those passengers have tested positive for Covid-19, Cal OES reports, but because they are symptomatic they cannot serve their 14-day quarantine at Travis Air Force Base.

A total of 149 passengers from the Grand Princess were transported Monday from the cruise ship to Travis for quarantine, Cal OES reports. Another 613 passengers arrived Tuesday at Travis for quarantine.

Racasner said in the statement Wednesday that base officials were monitoring the situation as it relates to the new coronavirus and are “closely engaged” with Solano County Public Health and CDC officials.

Practical implications of the escalation to HPCON Bravo at the base include direction for those on the base to practice social distancing and refrain from physical contact such as shaking hands, fist bumps and similar activities; and cancellation of all gatherings of 100 or more people through April 30 unless they are mission-essential as directed by a unit commander.

“While this measure may seem drastic, it will help to mitigate potential community spreading on base,” Racasner said in the statement.

Military and civilian personnel and dependents on the base are being asked to continue standard anti-virus activities such as washing hands with liquid soap and water and rubbing them for at least 20 seconds; wiping common-use items with disinfectant; covering their mouth and nose with a tissue or their sleeve (not their hands) when coughing or sneezing; staying home if they are sick; and getting a flu shot to protect themselves and others from flu, which has similar symptoms to Covid-19.

On-base child care facilities remain open, Racasner said in the statement. Officials with the Travis School District will make decisions about school operations independent of the base’s actions.

Anyone who develops flu-like symptoms with fever and cough or shortness of breath and may have had contact with a person who has Covid-19 or had recent travel to countries considered high-risk are asked to contact their health care provider before seeking medical care to prevent possible transmission in the health care setting.

People who are normally seen at David Grant Medical Center are asked to first call the TRICARE nurse advice line at 1-800-874-2273 or the David Grant Medical Center appointment line at 707-423-3000 prior to coming to the hospital.

“This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation,” Racasner said in the statement. “We will continue to partner with local agencies to ensure the safety and welfare of our force and families.”

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