CDC Adds Another Airport For Screening Of Travelers Who Might Have Ebola

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Two more airports have been added as options for people traveling from countries affected by the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

People traveling from Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan can go to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, starting May 26, Customs and Border Protection said on May 22.

The CDC said in a statement that Atlanta airport “has established operational procedures in place” for enhanced screening, which is one layer of the country’s approach to public health on top of screening individuals overseas before they board flights, having airlines report suspected illnesses among passengers, and monitoring people after they arrive.

On May 21, U.S. officials announced that U.S. citizens and legal residents who had been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within 21 days of arrival must go through Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, outside the nation’s capital.

CDC officials said that the travelers would be escorted to a special area of the airport to complete a questionnaire about their travel history and symptoms, and to provide their contact details.

CDC personnel would observe people for signs of illness and take their temperatures with no-contact thermometers.

Travelers without symptoms would be allowed to go to their final destinations; travelers with symptoms would be evaluated by a CDC public health officer and may be sent to area hospitals.

U.S. officials have said that there are no cases of Ebola in the United States linked to the outbreak, which was confirmed in Congo earlier this year and is up to more than 1,000 suspected and confirmed cases.

One case was confirmed in an American doctor, Dr. Peter Stafford, who was working in Congo. He and his family were flown to Germany for treatment, while another doctor, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, was transported to the Czech Republic for monitoring.

Ambulance staff at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center during their Ebola virus readiness drill to test their ability to diagnose and treat Ebola patients in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2014. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

Serge, a Christian organization with which Stafford and LaRochelle work, said on May 24 that LaRochelle is asymptomatic. The group previously released a statement from Stafford saying the doctor was “cautiously optimistic” after beginning to receive care in Germany.

A White House official told The Epoch Times in a recent email that decisions on whether to move Americans who contract or are exposed to Ebola in another country to the United States will be made on a case-by-case basis, “but we will do what we need to to ensure health of Americans and minimize transmission odds.”

The CDC has taken other steps to try to prevent introducing Ebola to the United States, including barring the entry of non-U.S. passport holders who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days.

The CDC on May 22 expanded that entry ban to green card holders who have recently been in those countries.

The new policy, in place for 30 days, will give acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya time to “make an informed determination” about necessary travel restrictions going forward, according to the public health agency.