Passenger at Newark airport taken to hospital for Ebola evaluation
OCTOBER 21, 2014, 8:30 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2014, 11:32 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
As the Obama administration announced steps to tighten screening of travelers from Ebola-ravaged West Africa, an airline passenger who landed in Newark on Tuesday afternoon after spending time in Liberia was brought to University Hospital for evaluation for possible symptoms and exposure to the disease.
“During the enhanced screening process for individuals arriving to the United States from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, an individual was identified as reporting symptoms or having a potential exposure to Ebola,” a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday night.
The passenger arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight from Liberia via Brussels at 12:55 p.m.
The Liberian national, who was held briefly in the customs area at Terminal C and separated from other travelers on the flight, was singled out for screening by agents because of his recent travel to Liberia, and he was found to have a fever, NBC 4 New York reported.
The passenger was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Newark for further evaluation. If officials decide they need to test the passenger for Ebola, the results could take some time.
As for the other travelers, “CDC or state/local public health officials will contact other passengers on the aircraft should it be determined that there was any risk to the other passengers of exposure to communicable disease,” Carol Crawford, the CDC spokeswoman, said in a statement.
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