By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
The U.S. will soon implement tougher screening at five airports to combat the spread of Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control announced Wednesday.
The increased measures will go into effect at New York’s JFK International Airport, Washington Dulles International, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, Chicago O’Hare International, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International. The five airports receive more than 94 percent of travelers from West Africa, where the deadly Ebola virus has killed nearly 3,900.
JFK alone received nearly half of all travelers from the three most affected West African countries from July 2013 through July 2014. JFK’s measures will be implemented Saturday, while the others will begin next week.
“We work to continuously increase the safety of Americans,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement. “We believe these new measures will further protect the health of Americans, understanding that nothing we can do will get us to absolute zero risk until we end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.”
All travelers entering the U.S. from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will now undergo additional screening after passport review. Customs and Border Protection staff will monitor them for symptoms of the virus, question them on possible exposure, and provide health information on Ebola.
Medical staff will also take their temperatures using a non-contact thermometer. One of the symptoms of Ebola is a high fever.
Travelers who have a fever, show other symptoms, or answer questions from customs staff that indicate they may have been exposed to the virus will be evaluated by a CDC quarantine station public health officer. The officer will then retake the traveler’s temperature and reassess if further evaluation or monitoring is warranted.
Those who do not display symptoms, nor have a known history of exposure will receive additional information on self-monitoring.
The new measures will bring "an additional layer of protection" to reduce the risk that the virus will spread within the U.S., Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said.
The CDC emphasized the importance of exit screening in countries where the disease is prevalent, saying that it is the “principal means” of preventing the spread of the disease to other nations. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have requested and received assistance from the CDC to bolster their exit screening efforts.
The new measures come as the first death in the U.S. from the virus was recorded. Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, died Wednesday in a Dallas, Texas, hospital after being diagnosed Sept. 28. He arrived in the U.S. from Liberia seven days before he was diagnosed.
Authorities are expected to discuss a second suspected case of Ebola in Dallas Wednesday afternoon.
Those infected with the virus may take up to 21 days after infection before showing symptoms that include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
www.aa.com.tr/en
