CDC Expands Coronavirus Screening for Travelers Entering US, Institutes 'Quarantine Stations' Around Country
U.S. health officials are expanding their checks of international travelers for signs of a worrisome new virus from China.
So far, they say the risk to Americans is very low.
For “the individual American, this should not be an impact on their day-to-day life,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Tuesday.
.@HHSgov Secretary Azar (@SecAzar) on #Coronavirus: “Americans should not worry for their own safety.”
Full video here: https://t.co/7S2GhJ90S1 pic.twitter.com/GSdQI0xJjX
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 28, 2020
So far, there are five confirmed cases of this new virus in the U.S.
There is no sign that they have spread the respiratory illness to anyone around them.
Reports from China suggest that people there may have spread the illness before showing symptoms.
However, Dr. Robert Redfield stressed there is no evidence of that in the U.S.
And while some other viruses are known to occasionally spread before symptoms are obvious — such as the flu — health officials say that’s far less of a concern than the obviously contagious patients.
The CDC already has been checking arrivals at five U.S. airports that once had direct flights from the hardest-hit section of China.
While China has instituted broad travel bans, people who had been in other parts of China still may be arriving via other countries.
As the death toll from coronavirus rises above 100, companies are restricting travel to China for their employees. HSBC banned all staff travel to Hong Kong and mainland China, while Facebook too announced a travel suspension https://t.co/hF95A9sq0S pic.twitter.com/3yZ2OkcNX5
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2020
The CDC is now beefing up screening at 15 more “quarantine stations” around the country, airports and other places where health workers regularly check arriving travelers for signs of illness.
But travelers may not be sick right then, CDC’s Dr. Nancy Messonnier said.
The screenings also are an opportunity to educate travelers that if they develop symptoms — such as fever or a cough — after returning from the outbreak zone, they should contact their doctor, she said.
That’s exactly what the first two U.S. patients did.
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