As the US steps up its response to a coronavirus outbreak, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned airline passengers that their flights might wind up rerouted if officials discover mid-flight that someone onboard has been in China in the past 14 days.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a “handful” of flights would be heading to China to bring Americans back home from Hubei Province, which is at the heart of the outbreak.
“The exact timing of those we’re still coordinating with the Chinese government,” Pompeo said at a news conference yesterday in Tashkent.
Photo: AFP
“We anticipate that they will happen in the next handful of days and we’ll return those American citizens,” he said.
“We may well end up bringing some citizens back from other countries as well. We’re working through the details on that,” Pompeo said.
He said the US might try to deliver some medical supplies to the region.
“We’re working closely and hand-in-hand with the Chinese government to try and resolve what is now this global epidemiological challenge, and so we’ll have more details exactly on when those flights will depart and when they return and how they’ll return to the United States before too long,” Pompeo said.
The DHS guidance on flights was included in a notice it released on Sunday as new travel restrictions officially went into effect for flights commencing after 5pm.
Under the new rules, US citizens who have traveled in China within the past 14 days would be rerouted to one of eight designated airports, where they would undergo enhanced health screening procedures.
They eight are: John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York; Chicago O’Hare International Airport; San Francisco International Airport; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport; Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu; Los Angeles International Airport in California; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; and Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
Starting yesterday, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport were to be added to the list.
US citizens who have been in Hubei Province within 14 days of their return are to be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine. The outbreak originated in that province.
US citizens who have been in other areas of China within the past 14 days are to undergo “proactive entry health screening” and up to 14 days of “self-quarantine.”
Meanwhile, most non-US citizens who have traveled in China within the past 14 days are to be denied entry into the US, except for immediate family members of US citizens, permanent residents and flight crew.
“While the overall risk to the American public remains low, funneling all flights with passengers who have recently been in China is the most important and prudent step we can take at this time to decrease the strain on public health officials screening incoming travelers,” Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said.
“We realize this could provide added stress and prolong travel times for some individuals, however public health and security experts agree these measures are necessary to contain the virus and protect the American people,” Wolf said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese