CDC now screening travelers to the United States on direct or connecting flights from Wuhan
FRIDAY, Jan. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Chinese officials have reported a second death from a new coronavirus responsible for an outbreak of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has implemented enhanced health screenings of travelers flying in from China to three major airports in the United States.
A 69-year-old man became ill with the respiratory condition on Dec. 31 and died Wednesday, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, the Associated Press reported. A 61-year-old man who was ill with the virus died last Saturday. So far, 41 people in Wuhan have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. As of late Thursday, 12 patients have recovered and have been discharged from care, and five were being treated for acute conditions, the AP reported.
Meanwhile, federal health officials announced today that travelers from China will now have to undergo enhanced screening at three major U.S. airports for symptoms of the new coronavirus. The three airports — San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX) — receive the most travelers from central China, officials explained. The CDC is deploying about 100 health workers to supplement existing staff at CDC quarantine stations located at those airports.
New York and San Francisco are the only airports that receive direct flights from Wuhan, a major transportation hub about 700 miles south of Beijing with a population of more than 11 million, Martin Cetron, M.D., director of the CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said during a media briefing held earlier today. The first flight to be fully screened will arrive at JFK in New York around 10 p.m. Friday night, he added. Los Angeles was included in the enhanced screening initiative because it receives a huge number of passengers arriving from Wuhan via indirect flights.
AP News Article
More Information: CDC
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