By Brenda Flanagan
Correspondent
They arrived from West Africa on connecting flights, diverted immediately to Terminal C, for day one of enhanced Ebola screening at Newark Liberty International Airport. Specially-trained Customs and Border Protection agents took passengers’ temperatures and travel histories and warned them to watch for symptoms. CPB officials assured a congressional hearing.
“When necessary the CBP will take appropriate safety measures on potential exposure,” said Customs and Border Protection Acting Assistant Commissioner John Wagner.
Ebola screening’s also underway at many airports in Europe. Meanwhile, passengers arriving on other international flights taxied to Terminal B — where nobody got screened. Reaction?
“I am absolutely stunned,” said Wayne Peterman.
Many told us screening should be mandatory for all international flights.
“People can be carriers and travel elsewhere and then into the country, too. So it could still be coming in,” Peterman said. When asked if he/she would have liked to have seen some action over here, he said, “Absolutely.”
“If there is some that do have it, we can maybe catch them right? Because you can catch some, not all,” said Dr. Uma Taneja.
CPB staffers say the screening’s focused on five airports — including JFK and Newark — because it’s where 94 percent of the 150 passengers arrive daily in the U.S. from West Africa’s hot zones — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Passengers with fever or possible exposure get questioned by a CDC staffer on site.
“Since screening began at JFK, CPB has conducted enhanced screening on 155 travelers who were identified in advanced as being known to have traveled through one of these three effected countries. A total of eight of these travelers have been sent to tertiary screening by CDC,” said Wagner.
Passengers red-flagged by the CDC would probably get routed to Newark’s University Hospital. But can it handle a full-blown case of Ebola? A spokesman said, it’s got an agreement with the CDC “…to detain, isolate and quarantine individuals who are reasonably believed to be infected with Ebola…”
But New Jersey’s State Nurses’ Association wants cases transferred to special federal treatment centers. That’s where the CDC this week moved two nurses infected by an Ebola patient in Dallas.
“It can be contained through proper training, equipment and that’s what we want, that’s what we’re asking for. We need a place at the table, to represent what we know are going on on the front lines,” said NJ Health Professionals and Allied Employees Bernard Gerard Jr.
On a radio show last night, Gov. Chris Christie didn’t welcome the suggestion.
“I’ve generally found the nurses’ union to be unhelpful,” he said.
“This isn’t about politics. This is about savings lives. We shouldn’t have to go to work, thinking we could come home infected,” said Gerard.
All week long, the CDC has tightened treatment protocol, adapting its rules on the fly. If they hit turbulence here, its rules for screening fliers may also get an upgrade.