Stockbyte/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Additional screening measures will be implemented at five U.S. airports in response to the Ebola outbreak overseas, the White House announced on Wednesday.
The five airports are: John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, O’Hare International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
These five airports are the destination of 94 percent of individuals who travel to the U.S. from the three West African countries currently affected by the outbreak, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday.
Roughly 150 passengers arrive at these airports daily from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the White House.
“This is an additional layer of screening that can be targeted to that small population in a way that will enhance security but also minimize disruption to the broader traveling public,” Earnest said.
The screening will involve taking the temperature of passengers who arrive from the affected countries in West Africa.
The White House maintains confidence in the screening measures in West Africa, Earnest stressed. The U.S. is adding a layer of security at these five airports to “add some confidence in our ability to continue to protect the American people from an Ebola outbreak,” he said.
“Preventing individuals who are already exhibiting symptoms of Ebola from boarding a plane in the first place is the most effective measure that will counter and has countered the spread of Ebola,” he said.
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