US Health Authorities Will Check Passengers on Airports after China-based Coronavirus Outbreak
DORAL, FL – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will now begin to check passengers flying from Wuhan City (China), where the coronavirus outbreak began, to three US airports.
According to the organization, around 5,000 passengers arriving at JFK International Airport in New York City, Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport will be evaluated by health authorities in the upcoming weeks to control the disease in national territory.
Passengers will be taken their temperature and asked about symptoms in order to determine if they carry the virus that has spread among 291 people since last December, most of them in the city of Wuhan, and caused the deaths of at least three. One case has been confirmed in Japan, two in Thailand and one in South Korea.
The first direct flight was expected to land last Friday night at JFK, and the next one Saturday morning in San Francisco.
According to CDC, the risk of having the coronavirus outbreak in national territory is low, which means this is a prevention measure since viruses are always likely to spread. “It is also likely that more cases will arise worldwide, including at least one at some point in the United States,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, CDC official.
“From a public health perspective, vigilance is necessary now,” said Ogbonnaya Omenka, an assistant professor and public health specialist at Butler University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to USA Today.
“Community-led surveillance systems can be very effective in detecting – and nipping in the bud – infectious diseases.”
For everyone’s piece of mind, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a range of interim guidance for all countries on how they can prepare for the virus, including how to monitor for sick people, test samples, treat patients and communicate risks to the public.
WHO will gather a panel of experts on coronavirus this Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland, to determine whether this outbreak constitutes an international public health emergency and how it can be managed.