U.S. DECLARES EMERGENCY
Temporarily bars most foreigners coming from China as death toll reaches 259
WASHINGTON — The United States on Friday declared a public health emergency and took drastic steps to significantly restrict entry into the country because of a new virus that hit China and has spread to other nations.
President Donald Trump has signed an order that will temporarily bar foreign nationals, other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled in China within the last 14 days. The new restrictions, which take effect at 4 p.m. Sunday, were announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who is coordinating the U.S. response.
“It is likely that we will continue to see more cases in the United States in the coming days and weeks, including some limited person-toperson transmissions,” Azar said. “The American public can be assured the full weight of the U.S. government is working to safeguard the health and safety of the American people.”
Americans returning from China will be allowed into the country, but will face screening at select ports of entry and required to undertake 14 days of self-screening to ensure they don’t pose a health risk. Those returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine.
Beginning Sunday, the U.S. will also begin
funneling all flights to the U.S. from China to seven major airports where passengers can be screened for illness.
China reported Saturday 259 people have died of a new virus, which has now infected nearly 11,800, a troublesome sign that prompted the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a global emergency. There are seven cases of this virus in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious diseases chief at the National Institutes of Health, said one reason the U.S. stepped up its quarantine measures was an alarming report from Germany
that a traveler from China had spread the virus despite showing no symptoms. Fauci contrasted it with the response to recent outbreaks of Ebola, which can’t be spread unless someone is very ill.
At the same time, federal health authorities were recognizing that the test they’re using to detect the virus isn’t always dependable. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said when it was used on some of the people currently in isolation, they’d test positive one day and negative another.
Delta Air Lines and American Airlines announced they were suspending all flights between the U.S. and China, joining several international carriers that have stopped flying to China as the outbreak continues to spread.
Meanwhile, U.S. health officials issued a twoweek quarantine order for the 195 Americans evacuated earlier this week from the Chinese city of Wuhan. None of the Americans being housed at a Southern California military base has shown signs of illness, but infected people don’t show symptoms immediately.