WASHINGTON — All major airports in the Washington, D.C. area confirmed late Tuesday that authorities are not yet screening passengers for the new strain of coronavirus, after health officials confirmed nine people have now died from the mysterious illness.
The deadly new strain of the virus originated in Wuhan, China, where close to 300 people have now been infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing respiratory illness in people and others circulating among animals including camels, cats and bats.
Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people, such as has been seen with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
On arrival to the United States, travelers from Wuhan may undergo health screening, including having their temperature taken and filling out a symptom questionnaire. Travelers with signs and symptoms of illness (fever, cough or difficulty breathing) will have an additional health assessment.
Severe infections often present pneumonia-like symptoms, although the CDC notes that a full understanding of the symptoms remains unclear with the latest mutation of the virus (2019-nCoV).
American health officials confirmed the first U.S. case of new a coronavirus strain in Washington state Tuesday afternoon. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, where an outbreak of pneumonia caused by the virus has been ongoing since December 2019.
Authorities added Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to the list of American airports now screening for the disease.
Passengers arriving at Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport have also been subject to health checks.