U.S. ramps up screening

Enhanced Ebola checks begin at Kennedy Airport for passengers fromWest Africa

new york » Customs and health officials began taking the temperatures of passengers arriving atNewYork’sKennedy International Airport from three West African countries Saturday in a stepped-up screening effort meant to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.

Federal health officials said the entry screenings, which will expand to four additional U.S. airports in the next week, add another layer of protection to halt the spread of a disease that has killed more than 4,000 people worldwide.

“Already there are 100 percent of the travelers leaving the three infected countries being screened on exit. Sometimes multiple times temperatures are checked along that process,” said Dr. MartinCetron, director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cetron added, “Nomatter howmany procedures are put into place, we can’t get the risk to zero.”

The screening will be expanded over the nextweek toNew Jersey’sNewark Liberty, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

Three more people under observation in Spain

» Three more people were under observation for Ebola in a Madrid hospital, boosting the number being monitored to 16. A nursing assistant infected with the virus remained in serious but stable condition Saturday.

The latest three are a nurse who came into contact with nursing assistant Teresa Romero, a hairdresser who attended to her and a hospital cleaner, all of whom were hospitalized late Friday.

Customs officials say about 150 people travel daily fromor through Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea to the United States, and nearly 95 percent of them land first at one of the five airports.

Passengers arriving at Kennedy said the screeningwas orderly. “They asked us a few questions, ifwe had been sick in the past few days,” said Johnson Nellon, 14, who flew from Liberia with his 17-year-old brother.

Public healthworkers use no-touch thermometers to take the temperatures. Those

Video journalist shows improvement

» who have a fever will be interviewed to determine whether theymight have had contact with someone infected with Ebola. There are quarantine areas at each of the five airports that can be used if necessary.

There are no direct flights to the U.S. fromthe three countries, butHomeland Security officials said lastweek they can track passengers towhere their trips began, even if they make several stops. Airlines from Morocco, France and Belgium are still flying in and out ofWest Africa.