Corona Virus feared in the U.S.
Airports take precautions to intercept sick passengers
BY JEFF YAPALATER
The Corona virus was first identified
as a virulant strain related to
the common cold which is believed
to have been started at an animal
or “wet” market in Wuhan, China,
about 2 hours from Hong Kong.
The number of cases with the virus
and some deaths has alarmed the
world and the U. S. Customs and Border
Protection service and the Center
for Disease Control at JFK have
been vigilant in screening suspected
carriers of the disease before they enter
the USA.
Health officials stepped up screening
efforts to include 20 U.S. airports
and flights have been stopped from
the Wuhan area to limit the contact
with the general population in China
and elsewhere.
On January 31, Some U.S., airlines
had drastically limited service
to stop any potential spread of the virus
just hours before the Trump administration
issued new travel restrictions
of its own. China Southern
has done the same.
American Airlines said it was suspending
all flights to and from mainland
China immediately through
March 27. Delta and United said they
would suspend service starting on
Feb. 6 to accommodate customers and
employees. United said it expected
to resume operations on March 28.
Delta said its suspension would last
through April 30.American Airlines
and United said they would still operate
flights between the United States
and Hong Kong.
Dr. Drew Posey of the Center for
Disease Control JFK Quarantine
Station recently gave a report to the
Kaamco Cargo committee on the current
state of the Wuhan virus and
gave his thoughts on the how to protect
against catching the virus. He
admits lack of information about all
aspects of the virus but offers some
reassurance of preventative methods
from catching the virus. Posey
said that this virus if of a family of
many common cold viruses but can
be more dangerous creating pneumonia
that has killed people. Some
symptoms are the same with a fever,
cough , runny noses, these kinds of
symptoms. It can be transmitted the
same way a common cold is, by being
exposed to a cough or sneeze, or
touching a item recently handled by
an infected person just like precautions
taken in the winter to avoid a
common cold. He suggested that common
practices such as not touching
your face, eyes, or mouth with your
hands and washing regularly after
handling items of an unknown
source or from multiple persons
touching items.
Jensen asked about flight cancellations,
and how this situation affect
AIRPORT V 12 OICE, FEBRUARY 2020
cargo commodities. Posey responded
that the biggest focus is on people.
With people blocked from coming
into the country, there has been a
decrease in the number of screenings
with restricted air travel. He believes
that if someone believes they
have touched something suspected of
having been handled by a suspected
infected person at the airport, if the
material is dry, then the virus dies
out. But still it is best to wash hands
whenever there is a doubt.
Continuing, he commented, “ I
want to add to my knowledge, is that
people that have been sick in the US
have had a connection with Wuhan,
or in the area. The 6 cases( now more)
cases in the U.S., had some exposure
to people who were sick or Wuhan.
Asked about immunization, Posey
said he doesn’t know about immunization,
how long it takes to develop
and to do what is says and move
through FAA approvals.
On January 23, 2020, the Wuhan
airport began cancelling some
flights from Wuhan Tianhe International
Airport (IATA: WUH, ICAO:)
WUH is in a province of mainland
China and is a busy airport of central
China. The airport is a focus city
for Air China, China Eastern Airlines
and China Southern Airlines.
The airport has flights to international
destinations such as New York
City, San Francisco, London, Tokyo,
Rome, Istanbul, Dubai, Paris, Sydney,
Bali, Bangkok, Moscow, Osaka,
Seoul, and Singapore.
Airlines flying out of Wuhan Airport
Air China, China Eastern Airlines
and China Southern Airlines
fly into JFK Airport. Here the CBP
check the immigration papers of foreign
nationals who have spent time
in Wuhan.
Other airlines serving Wuhan
include: AirAsia, AirAsia X, Air
China, Air France, All Nippon Airways,
Beijing Capital Airlines, Cathay
Dragon, Chengdu Airlines,
China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines,
China Southern Airlines,
Chongqing Airlines, Hainan Airlines,
Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Joy
Air, Juneyao Airlines, Korean Air,
Kunming Airlines, Lion Air, Lucky
Air, Malaysia Airlines, Maldivian
Airlines, Malindo Air, Mandarin
Airlines, New Gen Airways, Shandong
Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan
Airlines, SilkAir, Spring Airlines,
Spring Airlines Japan, Thai
AirAsia, Tianjin Airlines, Vietnam
Airlines, West Air, Xiamen Airline.
Protective masks worn around international flights.
Human Trafficking awareness
T4 & T8 host CBP outreach
January was Human Trafficking
Awareness month and spread
the word on the Blue Campaoign
to inform the public of this terrible
situation.
Bithe JFK Termojnals 4 and
* hosted representatives from
lthe Customs Border Protection
agency who had a display table in
the traveler consiurses. The CBP
officers shared flyers, cards, and
information on the plight of people,
mostly women, hve been kidnapped,
manipulated and trapped
into a life of despair and crime by
predatory criminals. Unlike the
TV sow that only show the success
of capturing such creeps, quite often
the victims are tricked into
the lives of prostution and serfdom
without any way out.
According to the CBP officers
that specialize in these crimes
many women are so oppressed and
helpless that they can’t escape and
live their lives in this dark world.
However some do manage to escape
and the CBP has a team that
works with these victims to get get
support and a life.
Timely in that the excitement
DHS HSI tabletop display for Human Trafficking
Awareness at Terminal 4 JFK Airport
with JFKIAT VP Security Stacey Lora.
around the Super Bowl also
brings out sex trffickers in Miami,
Agencies have come together
not to watch the game, but to
watch for the high number of sex
related trafficking crimes as well
as the sale of hundreds of thousands
ood dollars of counterrfeit
merchandise that these traffickers
also peddle to an nsuspecting
public.