Screening passengers for coronavirus symptoms at U.S. airports proved woefully ineffective and identified only nine coronavirus cases among more than 766,000 travelers, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While instituting screening protocols at airports required “considerable resources,” only one case was detected for roughly every 85,000 travelers, the researchers found. Of the 766,044 passengers screened during the eight months the program was active, only 298 reported potential exposure or symptoms that required an additional assessment. Of that number, just 35 were tested for the coronavirus, with only nine of the results ultimately coming back positive. Another contributing factor may have been “travelers who might deny symptoms or take steps to avoid detection of illness.”

Source: Washington Post November 12, 2020 05:20 UTC