WASHINGTON – The nation’s infectious diseases chief says that the White House is considering how to provide additional screening of travelers who arrive at U.S. airports for Ebola.
Entry screenings could include taking the temperature of travelers, asking them if they feel well, where they have traveled and whether they have come into contact with anyone with suspected or diagnosed Ebola, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci tells WTOP that such screening options were discussed during a meeting at the White House Monday.
“No firm decision yet on exactly how it’s going to be implemented, but there will be some implementation of another layer of screening,” Fauci says. “This is something that I agree completely needs to be considered seriously.”
Travelers leaving three nations currently battling the Ebola outbreak in Africa are already subject to screening. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, tells the Washington Post that so far 77 travelers have been barred from boarding planes because of the exit screenings.
The U.S. Coast Guard has also announced that ships seeking to enter ports in New York and Connecticut must report whether anyone on board has symptoms of Ebola or is sick or has died from the disease before they could enter the harbor.
The White House said that it would not call for a blanket ban on travel to and from the region, according to the Associated Press.
The CDC has had staff at major U.S. airport for years, according to the Associated Press.
Despite that, taking the temperature of passengers “logistically is not as easy as one might think,” Fauci says. There would be some false positives among such a large number of people.
“The pros may outweigh the cons. And that’s what’s being discussed right now,” he says.
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