Fourteen of the 328 Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive for coronavirus before their flights took off Sunday night

CDC officials warned that they should not fly alongside uninfected passengers for fear of spreading the virus

State Department officials overruled their objections and put the infected people in isolation pods on the cargo planes, the Washington Post reported 

Now, 18 American evacuees from the ship are confirmed to have coronavirus, US officials said Friday 

A State Department official defended the decision as one made in an 'emerging situation' and praised authorities on the ground for 'bringing them home' 

CDC spokesperson Dr Nancy Messonnier warned that coronavirus is not yet spreading in US communities but said it's 'likely that it may happen' 

Sixteen other Americans have been confirmed to have coronavirus, which has sickened more than 77,000

 The cruise ship, by far the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside China, has become the biggest test so far of other countries' ability to contain an outbreak that has killed 2,250 people worldwide