The passenger traveled to Palm Beach International Airport on JetBlue Flight 253 from JFK International Airport in New York on Wednesday night. The airport is open and is ’safe’ and ’clean,’ a spokeswoman said.

WEST PALM BEACH — A JetBlue plane and a concourse at Palm Beach International Airport were scrubbed down Thursday morning after a flight from New York landed Wednesday night carrying a passenger who'd been infected with coronavirus, the airport confirmed.

"The airport is safe. The airport is clean. There's no interruption to operations," airport spokeswoman Lacy Larson told The Palm Beach Post on Thursday morning.

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The affected passenger was isolated, the Florida Department of Health said Thursday evening.

Another passenger who’d been on JetBlue 253, a nonstop flight from JFK International Airport, told The Post on Thursday that the ill person, an older man from Long Island who was traveling with his wife, had been tested before he left and learned in mid-flight that the results had come back positive.

Larson said both Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue and officials of the Florida Department of Health for Palm Beach County met the plane when it arrived on time at 8:37 p.m.

County health officials followed all guidelines "for a COVID-19 positive patient," Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue said overnight.

Larson said JetBlue bypassed its usual gate at Concourse C and went instead to Concourse A, currently used only by Bahamasair.

She said the 109 passengers and a crew of five on the JetBlue flight stayed on the plane for at least two hours before coming off, where they were directly interviewed by Dr. Alina Alonso, the county’s health director.

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Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue said passengers were told to call the health department if they had any "medical concerns."

Because PBIA is not a connection hub, and because of the late hour of the arrival, it's unlikely someone on the plane was connecting to another flight that night, Larson said.

Concourse A was shut down Wednesday night and was being "cleaned and sterilized," Larson said. She said Bahamasair's first flight was an arrival at mid-morning and, if necessary, it would use a gate at Concourse B.

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Larson said the JetBlue aircraft was moved to a parking area off Concourse A. She said JetBlue would handle the cleaning of the plane.

At midday, JetBlue gave The Post a statement with some details about the incident, saying its crew "did an incredible job coordinating with health authorities. After health officials allowed customers to disembark, we conducted a thorough sanitizing of the aircraft according to CDC guidance. We have also sanitized common areas in both airport terminals involved.

"We will continue to coordinate closely with health officials and provide them any additional information required."

The airline later reported that it learned that the man knowingly boarded the plane while awaiting results for a coronavirus test and failed to disclose that information to airline personnel.

"Last night's event put our crewmembers, customers, and federal and local officials in an unsettling situation that could have easily been avoided, and as such, this customer will not be permitted to fly on JetBlue in the future," the statement said.

The airline also said that it was asking customers who don't feel well or are concerned they might have the virus not to fly until medically cleared. It said it was waiving change and cancellation fees.

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Health officials have counted 26 cases of coronavirus in Florida. Wednesday’s case was the second confirmed incident involving a person who had traveled to Palm Beach County, following one authorities discussed Sunday night.

The state health department is not counting either person as a Palm Beach County case, at least not yet.

The person discussed Sunday night came to the county for an event at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The Pennsylvania Department of Health notified the county that a person from Pennsylvania was at the Biogen pharmaceutical company’s booth at a Feb. 28 conference on multiple sclerosis, County Mayor Dave Kerner said. That person is believed to be in Pennsylvania now.

The announcement followed a day of activity surrounding the virus.

– The World Health Organization declared it to be a pandemic.

– President Trump announced limits on U.S. travel to parts of Europe that have seen outbreaks of coronavirus.

– The NBA placed its season on hiatus after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive.

– Hollywood performers Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson reported testing positive for COVID-19.

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