NEWS
CDC Expanding Coronavirus Screening at U.S. Airports
Source: Reuters
With the first travel-related case of coronavirus reported in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced they will expand screening of passengers arriving from Wuhan, China to two additional airports: Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The CDC already has coronavirus screening at New York JFK, LAX and San Francisco International.
The first human infection with new #coronavirus (#2019-nCoV) has been reported in the US in a person who recently traveled to Wuhan, China. Additional cases in travelers have been reported in Thailand, Japan, and The Republic of Korea. https://t.co/bbH7gGPuyh pic.twitter.com/cGvFc4DYDZ
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 21, 2020
According to USA Today, the CDC will reroute all passengers flying between Wuhan, China and the United States to one of the five airports to be screened. Screening includes passengers having their temperature taken and answering a series of questions.
The CDC confirmed on Tuesday the first travel-related case of coronavirus has been reported in the U.S. The unnamed patient, who is in his 30’s, recently returned from Wuhan to Seattle – Tacoma International Airport on January 15. According to CNN, the patient sought medical attention on January 19 after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
While limited person-to-person spread with this new coronavirus in Asia raises CDC’s level of concern, the agency continues to believe the risk of #2019-nCoV to the American public at large remains low at this time. https://t.co/zMAqF4yt3M
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 21, 2020
CNN reports the unnamed patient is in isolation at Providence Regional Medical Center in Washington and the CDC and Washington state are now tracing the people he was in contact with to see if he might have spread the disease to someone else.
