All travelers from Wuhan, China, to the United States will have to undergo public health screening at the three U.S. airports that receive the most travelers from the Chinese city – San Francisco, New York, or Los Angeles – in response to a novel coronavirus outbreak that is continuing to grow.
These efforts are being led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The screening requirements will apply both to direct travelers from Wuhan and those on connecting flights.
The added security is being included in public health screenings in the country due to ever-expanding cases of the new coronavirus from the area. Earlier this week, the number of infected confirmed by Chinese authorities skyrocketed to more than 200 cases. In a tweet, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the increase was “the result of increased searching and testing for 2019-nCoV among people sick with respiratory illness.” While Wuhan bears the bulk of the sick, cases have begun to spread to other major Chinese cities. Travelers have also brought the virus abroad, with cases reported in Japan, Thailand, and South Korea as well.
Little remains known about the virus. It is a strain of coronavirus reminiscent of SARS, but how it has spread, and its source both continue to elude scientists. While WHO has not yet recommended restrictions on travel or trade in the wake of the outbreak, many nations have launched enhanced screening protocols.
“To further protect the health of the American public during the emergence of this novel coronavirus, CDC is beginning entry screening at three ports of entry. Investigations into this novel coronavirus are ongoing, and we are monitoring and responding to this evolving situation,” Dr. Martin Cetron, director of CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said.
The CDC notes that risk to the American public is currently low. The measures being undertaken at three airports are proactive preparation. However, at the same time, WHO has announced plans to convene an emergency panel in Geneva this week to determine whether or not to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
About 100 additional staff will be deployed to SFO, JFK, and LAX to supplement existing staff stationed at CDC quarantine stations therein. Officials have likewise warned that screening procedures and other response activities could be adjusted as the outbreak investigation continues, considering that entry screening alone is no guarantee against a virus’s importation.
Some organizations, like the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, have also pointed to the outbreak as a case in point for needing a National Biodefense Strategy.
“The Commission is paying close attention to the spread of novel coronavirus and efforts to prevent outbreaks here in the United States, including CDC deployment to three US airports to check passengers arriving from Wuhan, China,” the Commission said in a tweeted statement. “Recent developments underscore why the Commission has called for a strong National Biodefense Strategy and its immediate implementation. We also urge Congress to more aggressively fund and other support federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies as they work to respond to these and other outbreaks with the potential to sicken and kill thousands.”
Much of what is currently understood about the new coronavirus comes from Chinese health authorities, but investigation is ongoing. Up until this week, the CDC maintained that there were some indications of limited person-to-person spread, but this has since been confirmed, with China’s state news agency Xinhua reporting that the virus is not only capable of human-to-human transmission, but has infected numerous medical workers. Most of the originally infected patients had in some capacity had exposure to a Wuhan market filled with live animals, so much attention has been paid to the possibility the virus has also jumped species.