
Americans returning on the last flights out of locked-down Italy say they were stunned to discover that there was still no screening for coronavirus upon arriving in New York on Tuesday.

Dominique Gioia, a 20-year-old student at SUNY New Paltz who was doing a semester abroad in Milan, was supposed to stay through end of May, until New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all SUNY and CUNY students home from programs abroad.

She told DailyMail.com: ‘In Milan airport, they took my temperature and I had to fill out a form. [The airport official] just held a little temperature thing to my forehead and then told me to go. That was it.’

As of Wednesday morning, more than 1,000 people in the US have tested positive to coronavirus, and there have been 32 deaths. Italy is facing the worst coronavirus epidemic outside of China and authorities said 631 people have died of COVID-19 there, with an increase of 168 fatalities recorded Tuesday.

Gioia says she and her fellow students were not screened after landing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport Tuesday, adding: ‘I was asked one question about why I was in Milan and then I was waved through.

'I was surprised because I thought this (coronavirus) was a whole big mess. But it doesn’t seem serious the way they were handling it.’

She and about a dozen other fellow students from New Paltz were in Italy programs. Gioia described Milan as a virtual ghost town. ‘The streets were barren,’ she said. ‘They closed everything.'

‘Our program got cut short so we had to leave,’ she added. ‘Our school ended our program while we were there and said if we stayed, they couldn’t help us or anything. And now we’re here. I’m frustrated.’

Dominique Gioia (right) returned from Milan, catching the last direct flight to New York on Tuesday. She she and her fellow students were not screened after landing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport

American Elizabeth Ross flew hom from Rome after studying for two months in the city. She told DailyMail.com there were temperature checks in Italy but not in the United States

Elizabeth Ross, another American passenger flying home from Rome after studying for two months in the city, told DailyMail.com: 'Right as we were going through security they had you stand in a spot and they took your temperature, with the body scanner, very quick, very easy.

Ross, who landed into JFK Tuesday evening, added: 'Before we boarded the flight we did have to fill out a paper that was very basic, it asked personal information, where you had traveled recently and if you had exhibited any symptoms of coronavirus.

'After scanning your boarding pass and right before you got on the plane they scanned again, and then boarded the plane and no trouble from there. On this side, nothing that I know of.'

One traveler, from Rhode Island, said they were not screen in either Italy or the US but simply asked to fill out a health form before landing into JFK.

And in Los Angeles at LAX passengers flying out of Italy Tuesday confirmed to DailyMail.com they too faced no screenings in the US but were tested before leaving the European country.

The Centers for Disease Control told people to avoid cramped and poorly ventilated spaces such as airplanes in order to slow the spread of the virus.

The airline industry has also warned it could suffer losses of $113billion globally in the worst hit since the 2008 recession if the disease continues to spread.

Passengers arriving into Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport on Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control told people to avoid cramped and poorly ventilated spaces such as airplanes in order to slow the spread of the virus

Passengers arriving into Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport on Tuesday

Passengers arriving into Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport on Tuesday. The airline industry has also warned it could suffer losses of $113billion globally in the worst hit since the 2008 recession if the disease continues to spread

Passengers arrive at JFK Airport in New York after flying from Rome, Italy, on Tuesday. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all SUNY and CUNY students home from programs abroad

Passengers arrive at JFK Airport in New York after flying from Rome, Italy on Tuesday. Another 24 hours have passed of the USA allowing flights into the country from coronavirus infected areas

One passenger at JFK was seen wearing a face mask and putting on rubber gloves

At JFK student Gioia said: ‘Most public gatherings were closed, museums were closed. They cancelled weddings and even funerals just recently, through April 2 for the whole country, so that was a little unnerving.

‘I tried to sight see as much as I could before leaving. I went to the Duomo di Milano, a famed cathedral which was opened though there was nobody there.’

Gioia said that although she doesn’t have any symptoms, she will self-isolate out of an abundance of caution.

‘I was told to self-quarantine by my school to stay in my house for two weeks,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I’m sick. I will as a precaution. It’s a bummer. ‘It’s a bummer that I’m even here because I was supposed to stay in Italy till May.

‘This is really sad for me, kind of dream crushing.’

Gioia said she was alarmed at the news that the Lombardy region - which includes Milan - and then the entire country was going to be placed on lockdown.

Infections in Italy topped the 10,000 mark — more than anywhere but China — and the number of deaths from the virus rose Tuesday to 631 from 463 a day earlier, Italian Civil Protection authorities said. Passengers pictured at JKF on Tuesday

New York’s governor announced he is sending the National Guard to scrub public places and deliver food in a New York City suburb that is at the center of the nation’s biggest known cluster of infections. Passengers pictured at JKF on Tuesday

Travelers with masks and gloves are seen walking through Terminal 1 at JFK

Passengers who arrived from Italy were shocked to see that there was no screening. Travelers pictured at JKF on Tuesday

American travelers arriving back into JFK from Rome on Tuesday reveal they were asked if they were sick but their temperatures were not taken despite a lockdown in Italy. One traveler, from Rhode Island, right, said they were not screen in either Italy or the US but simply asked to fill out a health form

‘I saw on Twitter the day before the closing of Lombardy region that people were running to get the last train out of Milan, to get away from the city as soon as possible,’ she said.

‘I was just reading the news and freaking out. I wasn’t going to come home. Then I heard they were shutting down all of Italy. So I was like, “I should go now”.’

Gioia said the flight home was mostly empty. ‘I could see four people in my section, and maybe 50 on the plane, an air bus. The only flight flying out of Milan to New York was this Emirates flight. That was the only direct flight.’

John Gioia, Sr, Dominique’s father, drove from his home in Wappingers to greet his daughter at the arrivals gate.

‘I’m happy she’s home,’ he said. ‘But what she went through, she’s going to go through all again here because the panic is going to follow here, with people cleaning out toilet paper and water supplies. It’s crazy.’

Another American who was in Milan had to return home sooner than planned.

Devin Pefumi, 24, of Hampden, Massachusetts, was in Milan as an au pair. For the past four months, she was there learning the language. She anticipated staying in the country for a year.

‘It got to the point where Milan was on complete lockdown and I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere except like 100 feet from my house,’ she said. That was no way to live a life and that was going to be for like two months.

‘And I learned my health insurance wouldn’t cover it if I got coronavirus over there. So it only made sense for me to leave.’

Pefumi said that she had to care for two children, ages 10 and 12, after their school was shut down.

‘The mom was a veterinarian who was still working,’ she said. ‘So I was having to care for them round the clock. It was an au pair’s worst nightmare, honestly.

‘The kids and I got really close. It would have ruined the relationship at a certain point because living in such a confined space would have been tough.

‘They did their homework. They started to do online classes because we knew this was going to be a long term thing. We played card games, practiced piano. But they’re city kids. You can’t go outside. They were starting to go stir crazy.’

Pefumi, like Gioia, managed to catch the last direct flight to New York. ‘After this, they cancelled all flights that I know of from Milan to New York.

People walk through Terminal 1 of JFK airport during on Tuesday wearing masks. Like other coronaviruses, including those that cause the common cold and that triggered SARS, COVID-19 is a respiratory illness

Flights from Italy bound for the US are still scheduled to land Tuesday, despite a widespread coronavirus outbreak in the European country. Terminal 4 at JFK airport is pictured Tuesday

Terminal 1 at JFK airport on Tuesday. JFK had cancelled two flights from Milan as of Tuesday morning but a third Emirates flight due to arrive at 7pm was still showing as 'scheduled'

Empty terminals and car parks at a very quiet Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday

One traveler wrote on Twitter Monday: 'Flew into LAX yesterday out of Heathrow. No checks on either end and flights landing from both China and Italy '. LAX is pictured Tuesday

‘And a lot of the people on my flight were on because they had cancelled the flights for tomorrow and the next day.’

At the airport in Milan, Pefumi was asked to write down her symptoms. After they took her temperature, she filled out paperwork.

But in New York, she was surprised to see there wasn’t any screening. ‘Nothing. I was surprised,’ she said.

‘They asked me if I’d been to China or Iraq. That was crazy because for me, Milan is so infested right now. Because it’s a small city. I mean, I don’t think anyone here realizes how bad it is there right now. It was bad.

‘But I don’t think anyone here realizes that because they just let me through.’

She’s going to self-quarantine for two weeks at home, not because she was told to do so but because of ‘common sense,’ she said.

‘Because I’ve been around so many people who were exposed to it, in such a small city, that it just makes sense.

‘Because I’ve seen how fast it spreads.’

She said ambulances were transporting the sick to hospitals all day.

Flights from Rome appeared to be operating as scheduled, but flights out of Milan appear to have been disrupted

An airport official takes a ticket from an elderly passenger at JFK's Terminal 1 on Tuesday

Another passenger wearing a face mask and gloves is seen above at JFK's Terminal 1 on Tuesday

HOW DIRECT FLIGHTS TO ITALY ARE AFFECTED DailyMail.com has contacted Alitalia, Delta, United Airlines, Norwegian, American Airlines and Emirates - who all operate direct flights to and from Italy to the US - for comment. Alitalia Currently operating all services between Rome and New York, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles, but with reduction in number of flights due to the drop of demand. Milan-New York flights were suspended yesterday. American Airlines Suspending service to Rome from Philadelphia (PHL) effective immediately through the end of April. Extending the suspension of service to Milan (MXP), and suspending flights to FCO from Chicago (ORD) and Charlotte (CLT) through early summer. Delaying the seasonal resumption of flights to Barcelona (BCN) from CLT and to Venice (VCE) from ORD to early June. Also delaying the seasonal resumption of flights to FCO from New York (JFK) and DFW through the end of April and suspending operation of second daily flight from DFW to FCO for the summer. Reducing service to Paris (CDG) and Madrid (MAD) for parts of May and June. Norwegian Norwegian is preparing to cancel approximately 3000 flights between mid-March and mid-June. This represents approximately 15 percent of the total capacity for this period. Delta Delta said it is suspending its New York-JFK service to Rome starting March 11 through April 30. United Airlines United Airlines said it would reduce U.S. and Canadian flights by 10% and international flights by 20% in April, with similar cuts planned in May. It added South Korea to its travel waiver list but is not cancelling flights. Emirates An Emirates spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'Emirates will temporarily suspend operations to Milan from New York (JFK) from March 11 to April 3, 2020, due to low demand.' Advertisement

‘The public transportation started to be completely empty,’ she said.

‘The last two days, there was no one on the streets. Everyone was staying home.

‘Only in like dire situations do you leave your house.

‘The food markets are starting to empty now, and people are doing online shopping for food and other stuff.’

Pefumi said that the panic fueled a run on the supermarkets.

‘Every Italian got so much pasta, months and months and months of pasta,’ she said.

‘And random things like tuna. Because Italians are like dramatic themselves.

‘And so the whole situation in Italy is just, the two combined is just interesting.’

When asked if she felt sick, she said: ‘I don’t feel sick but there’s a little fear.’

Mauricio Z., 50, of Manhattan, went to Milan with his male friend with plans to ski three hours away in Switzerland for a week, but the ski mountain shut down, Milan went into lockdown, and he and his buddy returned to New York after just three days, catching this last flight out of Milan.

‘We skied for a half a day, Sunday, before it closed.

‘We see the situation and chose to come home.’

They drove their rented car along virtually barren highways back to Milan.

‘It was empty. There was no one around. It was like a ghost town, a ghost country. Nothing, zero, no traffic, no people.’

‘We got this last flight out. All the other flights were cancelled.’

He had his temperature taken in Milan. He was astonished that he wasn’t screened upon arrival at JFK.

‘No screening here. We were completely surprised. We were scared about coming in, thinking they’d say, oh, you were in Milan, now we bring you to some hospital somewhere. We were scared, big time.’

‘Nobody told us to stay home but we will anyway to be safe.’

Italian flights bound for the United States were still landing into the US Tuesday, despite a widespread coronavirus outbreak in the European country.

At least three flights from Rome departed for America as of 7am EST - bound for Miami, Atlanta and Newark Liberty airports.

JFK airport had cancelled two flights from Milan as of Tuesday morning but a third Emirates flight still landed at 7pm.

And another flight departed from Rome, landing at 3:45pm local time in Philadelphia. Flights from Rome to JFK and Atlanta also landed Tuesday afternoon.

DailyMail.com contacted Alitalia, Delta, United Airlines, Norwegian, American Airlines and Emirates - who all operate direct flights to and from Italy to the US - for comment.

An Alitalia source confirmed Tuesday they are currently operating all services between Rome and New York, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles, but with reduction in the number of flights due to the drop of demand. The source added: 'Milan-New York flights were suspended yesterday.'

United announced Tuesday that its CEO and president will waive 100 per cent of their base salaries until at least June 30, as a result of coronavirus.

Other passengers complained that as the new rules were announced, it was unclear how travelers would be treated when they arrive in the US and what would happened when it was time to return to the region.

Marjorie Perrelli Day tweeted at JFK's Twitter account: 'I have friends coming from Italy today from Rome. What will they have to do since Italy is now totally shut down. People have been tweeting that JFK has zero screening. So can you explain this?'

A spokesman for JFK replied: 'The Port Authority is providing all necessary support for the screening currently being carried out by the @CDCgov & @CBP of passengers at its airports and any ensuing referrals for quarantine in cooperation with state and city health authorities.'

Trump had vowed on March 1 that anyone returning from 'high risk countries' would be screened both before they boarded planes and once they had returned to the US.

But Atlanta airport admitted Sunday: 'People aren't being screened when they arrive from Italy/South Korea, because those countries are doing exit screenings.'

Many travelers took to Twitter to share stories about returning to America from the high-risk countries with minimal to no screening.

One traveler wrote on Twitter Monday: 'Flew into LAX yesterday out of Heathrow. No checks on either end and flights landing from both China and Italy at the same time. Some context, was in Tanzania and Kenya last week and they even had checks inbound and outbound. How can this be?'

Trina Hayes said Monday: 'We returned from 10 days in southern Italy on Saturday night. Despite US saying no one allowed to board with a fever over 99.5, no one on our flight from Rome to JFK had a temperature check. We were not checked for any symptoms at JFK or O'Hare either.'

A team of US and Chinese researchers estimated that there could already be more than 10,000 cases of coronavirus in America, the majority of them undetected. Passengers pictured at JFK on Tuesday

TURBULENCE IN THE AIR Leading U.S. airlines American and Delta suspended 2020 financial forecasts on Tuesday and took drastic further measures to combat the impact of the coronavirus, while United announced a capital raising and said it would post a first-quarter loss. Airlines continue to slash capacity as travelers cancel flights or avoid them all together. American Airlines cut international capacity by 10 per cent for the summer Tuesday and will trim domestic capacity by 7.5 per cent next month as millions second guess vacations or business travel. The airline is suspending flights between Los Angeles and mainland China and Hong Kong for the entire summer. It suspended flights between Philadelphia and Rome immediately Tuesday. That hold will remain in place through the end of April. Delta Air Lines on Tuesday cut international capacity by 20 per cent to 25 per cent and will reduce domestic capacity by 10 per cent to 15 per cent. It also announced a hiring freeze and is offering employees voluntary leave. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are allowing passengers to rebook tickets through April 30 without paying fees. United announced Tuesday that its CEO and President will waive 100 per cent of their base salaries until at least June 30, as a result of coronavirus. San Francisco International Airport said its passenger numbers are down 30 percent from the same time in 2019. Advertisement

The US embassy said: 'Italy has expanded temperature screening to all air travelers upon arrival on all international (including European) and domestic flights arriving in Italy's major airports as well as upon departure for most non-Schengen countries.'

The State Department simply tells Americans to 'reconsider travel to Italy' but is still yet to issue its strongest warning of 'do not travel' apart from to hotspots Lombardy and Veneto.

The CDC have issued a Level 3 warning - their highest - to avoid all nonessential travel to Italy. They say on their website: 'To slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into the United States, CDC is working with state and local public health partners to implement after-travel health precautions.

'Depending on your travel history, you will be asked to stay home for a period of 14 days from the time you left an area with widespread or ongoing community spread (Level 3 Travel Health Notice).'

Italian streets and piazzas were empty today and tourist favorites including Milan's shopping galleries, Rome's Spanish Steps and Vatican's St Peter's Square were all but deserted.

Italy is facing the worst coronavirus epidemic outside of China. Around 50,000 US citizens are thought to currently reside in the country.

It is not clear if the US government is developing any plans to bring them home.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte declared last night that 'everyone must give up something to protect the health of citizens' with more than 10,000 virus cases confirmed in Italy and 631 people dead.

More than 5.6 million Americans visit Italy every year, representing 9 per cent of foreign tourists and the second-largest national group behind Germans, according to the most recent statistics.

Anyone with a fever has been ordered to stay indoors with travel banned except in emergencies and public gatherings including weddings, funerals and sports fixtures shut down.

The virus is spreading so quickly that doctors are now having to make life-or-death decisions about who gets access to intensive care.

British Airways and Jet2 have cancelled all their hundreds of flights to and from Italy until April at the earliest and easyJet has grounded most services.

BA has axed its 60 flights a day to cities including Milan, Venice and Rome while Jet2 has gone even further and cancelled its services for almost two months until April 26.

EasyJet has stopped the majority of its flights to northern Italy but planes will still fly from southern cities such as Rome and Naples despite the blanket travel ban imposed by the Italian government.

CORONAVIRUS TRAVEL TIPS As the novel coronavirus spreads across the globe, health experts advise plane travelers to sit in a window seat, disinfect their table trays and window blinds, and warn that wearing a mask won't prevent infection. Officials say the best way to avoid catching the virus, which is spread through viral particles within mucus or saliva, is to keep your hands clean, disinfect your space, and avoid touching your face. It is also advised that plane travelers choose a window seat to have less contact with potentially sick people. 'Book a window seat, try not to move during the flight, stay hydrated and keep your hands away from your face,' Vicki Stover Hertzberg, professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, said. 'Book a window seat, try not to move during the flight, stay hydrated and keep your hands away from your face,' a professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, said Hertzberg helped conduct a study that followed passengers and crew members on 10 three to five-hour flights during the flu season and found that passengers who sit in the window seats had less contact with ill people. Wearing a mask on the plane may not prove helpful as the air in the aircraft is considered sterile because there are so few microorganisms at such a high altitude and the plane draws fresh air from the outside. About 50 percent of the air in cabins is recirculated but it goes through sophisticated air filters similar to those used in surgical environments, before it's its pushed back into the plane. A problem with paper masks is that they don't have a respirator to filter out infectious air articles. That means passengers are more likely to catch the virus through direct contact from someone with the virus or surfaces rather than through the air. But one study found that the other coronaviruses - such as SARS and MERS - remains on metal, glass, and plastic surfaces for up to nine days. Top tips include: - Good hand hygiene: Frequently wash hands for at least 20 seconds or using hand sanitzer - Disinfect your space: Bring your own wipes and wipe down window blinds, seat belts, arm rests, touch screens and tray tables - Choose a window seat: Sit near the window and avoid moving around the cabin to limit exposure to potentially sick people - Use touch screen with a tissue: Avoid contact with surfaces that may hold the virus - Avoid touching your face: 2019-nCov is spread through viral particles in mucus or saliva. Avoid touching your face and transferring germs picked up from surfaces Advertisement