More than 40 people in China are infected with the novel corona virus, and the lung disease could have its origin in Wuhan. This development now has consequences for entry into the USA: At airports in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, travelers from Wuhan are to be examined for infection with the virus.
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Officials from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States said that from Friday, those entering the country would be questioned about symptoms and measured with a fever. The center estimated that around 5,000 people would be examined in the coming weeks. The measures will be carried out at John F. Kennedy Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
The risk to the American population is estimated to be low, said Dr. Martin Cetron from the CDC. However, they want to be prepared and take precautions to prevent the virus from spreading in the United States.
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The CDC was also criticized for the measure. “It’s not a particularly effective intervention and it may create a false sense of security,” said Dr. Kamran Khan, a researcher from the University of Toronto. The examinations would likely find symptoms similar to those of the lung disease in many people, after all, it is flu season.
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The Wuhan’s health commission had recently announced that a 69-year-old man had died of the lung disease. It is the second death that can be traced back to the novel coronavirus.
Asian countries have also increased precautionary measures when entering the country, especially for travelers from Wuhan, and introduced fever controls to prevent the feared spread. The US embassy in Beijing had issued a warning to travelers to Wuhan.
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After the illnesses in Wuhan, the virus was last confirmed abroad for the first time. The pathogen was detected in a Chinese woman in Thailand and a Chinese woman in Japan, who had both previously been in Wuhan.
The Robert Koch Institute currently estimates the risk to the health of the population in Germany to be very low.
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