Screening of airline travelers for virus set to end

The U. S. will end COVID19 screening for airline passengers arriving from much of the world, saying the procedures have “limited effectiveness” for catching sick people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Travelers arriving from China, Iran, most of Europe and Brazil will also no longer be required to arrive at 15 designated airports when the new policy goes into effect Monday, the CDC announced late Wednesday.

“We now have a better understanding of COVID- 19 transmission that indicates symptom- based screening has limited effectiveness because people with COVID- 19 may have no symptoms or fever at the time of screening, or only mild symptoms,” the agency said in a statement.

“Transmission of the virus may occur from passengers who have no symptoms or who have not yet developed symptoms of infection,” the CDC said.

A CDC statement said that 675,000 people underwent the screenings and that fewer than 15 were identified as having COVID- 19.

Instead, the U. S. government’s efforts will focus on educating travelers before they leave and while they’re in the air, and on gathering passengers’ contact information so they can be reached if it is determined they may have been exposed to the virus.

The new policy does not change travel bans on nonU. S. residents that apply to the foreign countries.

The CDC’s new approach is aimed at encouraging people to monitor their health over a longer period.

Air travel played a crucial role in rapidly spreading the virus from China around the world. But experts say restrictions on travel imposed once the virus had already spread widely did little to further contain it.