The U.S. declared a public health emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China, ordering as much as a 14-day quarantine of citizens returning from the province at the center of the outbreak and denying entry to some foreigners displaying symptoms.
In addition, flights to the U.S. from China will be restricted to seven airports. U.S. carriers have already significantly cut travel to and from the country.
The actions, announced today by President Donald Trump’s newly formed virus task force, will begin Feb. 2.
Under the temporary emergency measure, U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei province during the past two weeks will be subject to the quarantine, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Citizens returning from elsewhere in China will be subject to screening, and have to self-quarantine for two weeks while being monitored.
Foreign nationals who have been in China recently, and who display symptoms, will be denied entry to the U.S., Azar said.
Honolulu is 1 of 7 U.S. airports to receive flights from China as U.S. declares public health emergency amid coronavirus.
Chinese flights will be funneled through Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York’s JFK International, Honolulu, Chicago, Atlanta and Seattle.
Only 1 in 6 U.S. cases of the coronavirus have been detected through airport screening, officials said.
The new entry measures are being taken after instances of asymptomatic spread became clearer and China cases exploded.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “This is a serious health situation in China, but I want to emphasize the risk to the American public is low. Our goal is to do all we can to keep it that way.”
