As the nation begins to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, some people are looking to the skies — and experts don’t necessarily like what they see, arguing there are not enough safeguards in place to protect passengers and crew.
While air travel has fallen sharply due to the virus, the airports are open and planes are flying both domestically and internationally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel guidelines encouraging air passengers to wear face coverings, “keep 6 feet of physical distance from others” and only board planes for essential travel. However, these guidelines are merely suggestions.
According to a May 6 government document reviewed by Yahoo News, the CDC was “developing a tool for predicting risk of importation of COVID-19 among international travelers” and meeting with the White House National Security Council “to discuss strategies for screening arriving international passengers from countries with substantial COVID-19 transmission.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the chairman of the House oversight subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, has investigated coronavirus screening procedures at airports. Earlier this week, the Illinois Democrat told Yahoo News he was concerned by the report that the White House is pursuing a temperature screening plan over the objections of CDC officials.
“Just from what we found with Italy and South Korea, there was no border closing. There was no screening. Unfortunately, the lack of screening probably had some very serious consequences at a time when cases were exponentially rising in the United States.” “The reality is that the United States government took early and decisive action to mitigate the risk from global hot spots, including China, Iran, South Korea, and the Schengen area of Europe,” Ullyot wrote. “After restricting travel from China on January 31 … the security directive put forth by the administration required enhanced medical screenings for all passengers before they departed on flights to the United States from Northern Italy and South Korea.
He said that lack of screening for domestic travelers is particularly worrisome as areas of the country are beginning to lift lockdown restrictions. He suggested this could lead to a situation where business people “go back and start traveling” and then “transport these cases everywhere.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
CDC releases scaled-back guidance on reopening after White House blocked earlier releaseThe CDC released previously withheld guidance documents on reopening schools, restaurants and other places, one week after the White House ordered the agency to revise an earlier draft it deemed “too prescriptive'
Read more »
CDC releases reopening guidelines first shelved by White House'These are much more detailed than this broad reopening plan that the president had released,' spettypi reports of the CDC reopening guidelines. 'This goes by certain sectors … and lays out what type of steps they should be putting in place to reopen.'
Read more »
White House aims to ramp up production of critical supplies ahead of coronavirus resurgence'We're making sure that as we go into the fall we're in a position where America never has to shut down again,' a senior administration official said.
Read more »
Only Kentucky And North Dakota Meet White House Criteria For Reopening, Data SaysA new dashboard built by former Trump and Obama officials shows that most states are making progress, but have not yet met federal guidelines to reopen.
Read more »
White House Dismisses Question on Contingency Plan Should Trump or Pence Fall Ill with Coronavirus'That's not even something that we're addressing,' Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters
Read more »