NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — New screenings are in effect at John F. Kennedy International Airport to help prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Beginning Saturday, all travelers arriving at JFK from West African nations will be escorted to a special screening area where they’ll be asked a series of health questions about possible exposure. Passengers will also have their temperature taken with a non-contact thermometer.

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As WCBS 880’s Monica Miller reported, JFK is the entry point for almost half of the 150 flights from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where thousands of people have died from the virus.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shed more light on the screenings during a news conference Saturday.

U.S. Customs Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske said the tougher screening program is designed to ensure no infected person slips through the airport.

“The expanded screening measures provide this layer of protection to the already established protocols to minimize the risk of another case of Ebola here in the United States,” Kerlikowske said.