Coronavirus outbreak: CDC expands airport health screenings for illness

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding its health screenings for the new coronavirus to 20 airports, the agency announced Tuesday.

For the past week, the CDC had already been checking travelers for symptoms at airports in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Airports in Houston; Dallas; San Diego; Seattle; Honolulu; Anchorage; Minneapolis; Detroit; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Newark, New Jersey; Boston; El Paso, Texas; and San Juan have since been added to the list, USA Today reported.

These 15 additional airports are already part of the United States' existing system of quarantine stations, which are staffed with public health officials who watch for sick international travelers.

All passengers arriving from China will be asked an additional set of screening questions as they get off the plane, and could be pulled aside for additional screening.

The first U.S. case of Wuhan coronavirus was confirmed in Washington state on Jan. 21. According to the CDC, a man in his 30s recently returned from a trip to China and was treated at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett.

As of Tuesday morning, there were five confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States.

– The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.

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