A number of American passengers who were recently evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise liner will be housed at a FEMA facility in Anniston, as first reported on Saturday by the Anniston Star.

A federal government spokesperson interviewed by the Star said that the individuals would be arriving “as early as Wednesday.” The spokesperson did not commit to a specific number of people that will be brought to the facility.

A news release sent out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says the passengers who will stay at the facility have tested positive for the Coronavirus, but “at this time they either do not have symptoms or have mild flu-like symptoms.”

The evacuees will reportedly be housed in a dormitory within Anniston’s Center for Domestic Preparedness, a facility operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Their healthcare will be administered by HHS, however the release added, “Any of the evacuees who become seriously ill will be transported to pre-identified hospitals for medical care.” Specific hospitals were not identified.

According to The Washington Post, 329 total Americans were evacuated from the ship last weekend. Of those passengers, 28 had tested positive for the virus as of Friday night. The Washington Post noted that “health officials expect to see more positive cases among the evacuated passengers in coming days.”

Local officials told the Star they had not been given advance warning about the carriers of the deadly disease being brought to their town.

The Center for Domestic Preparedness is one of the most sophisticated facilities in the FEMA network. The team there had already been doing work on how to prepare for Coronavirus victims in the U.S.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m.

Officials are holding a live press conference regarding this story.

Watch:

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.