Hide Transcript Show Transcript

FLIGHT FROM BEIJING TO BOSTON. MARY: THE BOSTON EMS DID IN EVALUATING THAT PASSENGER BUT THEN THE PASSENGER DECLINED FURTHER TREATMENT. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. THE PASSENGER COULD STILL BE HERE IN QUARANTINE. THE CDC HASN’T GOTTEN BACK TO US. WE TALKED TO PASSENGERS WHO SAID THEY WERE UNAWARE OF THE INCIDENT. PASSENGERS COMING OFF A HAINAN FLIGHT FROM BEIJING SAY THEY WEREN’T SCREENED HERE AT LOGAN, BUT THEY WERE CLOSELY MONITORED BEFORE BOARDING IN CHINA, AND WHILE THEY WERE IN THE AIR. FRANK: BEFORE WE TAKE THE FLIGHT, THEY WILL TAKE OUR BODY TEMPERATURE TO MAKE SURE NO SYMPTOMS. >> TEMPERATURE CHECK>>, STUFF LIKE THAT. MARY: IN LOGAN’S INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL, PRACTICALLY EVERY FACE IS COVERED, PASSENGERS, EMPLOYEES AND FLIGHT CREW MEMBERS. ERIC: I’M OK, I THINK I’M OK, BUT I DON’T WANT TO POSSIBLY INFECT OTHERS. MARY: LOGAN IS ONE OF 20 AIRPORTS THE CDC HAS TARGETED FOR CORONAVIRUS SCREENING, BUT AT THIS HOUR, MASSPORT IS STILL WAITING FOR THE GREEN LIGHT. SO THE TRAVELING PUBLIC IS POLICING THEMSELVES. PASSENGERS HEADED BACK TO CHINA TODAY HAD STOCKED UP ON FACEMASKS. KYLE: DEFINITELY I’M WORRIED, BUT I DO THINK PEOPLE ARE GETTING VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS, AND THE PEOPLE DO WEAR GOOD PROTECTIONS. AND WE ACTUALLY OT LOTS OF MASKS WE’RE GOING TO TAKE BACK TO CHINA. MARY: THEY ARE HEADED HOME TO SHENZHEN. AND WILL PLAY IT SAFE. HENRY: I WILL GET OFF IN BEIJING, GO STRAIGHT TO SHENZHEN AND STAY HOME. QUARANTINE MYSELF FOR TWO WEEKS. MARY: NOW THE CDC SAYS THE RISK FOR THE VIRUS IS LOW BUT WE ARE EXPECTING THE CDC TO START

Advertisement Passenger on flight from Beijing evaluated at Logan; refused hospitalization, Boston EMS says Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A person who arrived at Logan International Airport on a flight from Beijing was medically evaluated Wednesday, according to Boston Emergency Medical Services.Boston EMS officials told WCVB that the patient refused transportation to an area hospital for further treatment.The Massachusetts Port Authority confirmed that a person was evaluated by medical personnel at Terminal E. The Boston Public Health Commission also confirmed that there was a sick person on a plane at Logan.An official with the health commission said Boston EMS determined the person showed no signs of any symptoms related to the Wuhan coronavirus and was cleared to leave the airport.The health commission said it was able to verify with Massport that the individual in question left the airport and was never in quarantine.Other passengers on that Hainan Airlines flight were screened, but officials said nothing unusual was noticed. Passengers aboard the flight from Beijing told NewsCenter 5’s Mary Saladna that they did not notice a sick person aboard the plane. Logan International is one of 20 U.S. airports targeted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin screening for the coronavirus. However, Massport said it still has not been contacted by the CDC in order to start the screening process at Logan.Travelers who are arriving to and departing from Logan are taking precautions. Many passengers and flight crew members traveling through Terminal E could be seen wearing medical masks. “There’s a lot of fear about it. The government, particularly in Hong Kong, is taking a lot of precautions,” said Hong Kong resident Dan Dicesire. “People are wearing masks. They’ve closed down all the public access to playgrounds. Schools are closed.”The World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to decide if the coronavirus outbreak warrants a declaration of an international health emergency.At least 170 people have died in China from this novel virus, and there are more than 7,700 confirmed cases of infection.A spokesperson for Boston University said the school's study abroad program in Shanghai, which was scheduled to begin in mid-February, has been indefinitely postponed.The school said its students had not yet left for China and are either continuing their studies in Boston or are enrolling in other study abroad programs.More than 200 Americans were evacuated from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak. They arrived in California on Wednesday afternoon, and they were screened. They will spend at least three days at a Southern California military base, where they will be monitored to ensure that they are not showing any signs of the virus.There are five confirmed Wuhan coronavirus cases in the United States, but the virus has yet to lead to any reported deaths in America.