Scottsdale doctor’s US coronavirus quarantine extended at last minute

PHOENIX – A Scottsdale doctor who was on a coronavirus-wracked cruise ship last month was despondent Monday after learning her quarantine at a Texas military base was being extended after nearly a month.

Dr. Sommer Gunia woke up expecting to fly home on her 27th day in quarantine since the Diamond Princess docked off the coast of Japan following a round-trip cruise.

Gunia and her family found out around 8:30 a.m. the plan had changed and she couldn’t leave Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

“We’re talking about doing a hunger strike now,” she told KTAR News 92.3 FM, her voice cracking with emotion. “How long are they going to keep us here?

“We have no control of anything, and I don’t think anybody knows how bad it is.”

On Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control said somebody who’d been quarantined at a San Antonio medical facility tested positively for the COVID-19 coronavirus that’s killed at least two people in the U.S. and more than 3,000 globally, the vast majority in China, where the outbreak originated.

It was unclear whether that development led to Gunia and others at the military base having their quarantine extended.

The office of San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg did not immediately reply to KTAR News‘ request for comment.

Gunia, a cancer surgeon, said she’s been reaching out to public officials and left messages for both of Arizona’s U.S. senators. She said she’s heard the quarantine could last another 10 days.

“I don’t understand this. I really feel like this is against our human rights,” she said.

“None of us want to get anybody sick, but, you know, we’ve done our time. We’ve done 26 days of time, and I don’t think anybody understands what that means.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jeremy Foster and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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