coronavirus

Dulles Airport Now Screening for Coronavirus

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Dulles International Airport is now among 20 U.S. airports screening international travelers for coronavirus amid growing concerns over the virus that has killed more than 100 and sickened thousands in China.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established quarantine stations at the airport, where medics are taking passengers' temperatures, asking them to fill out a questionnaire about their travel and watching for any symptoms.

With an incubation period of anywhere from two to 14 days, travelers who have the virus could arrive without showing symptoms. Health officials say the virus is contagious during the incubation period.

Juliana Valencia spoke with travelers at Dulles about the screening for coronavirus.

The CDC's Dr. Nancy Messonnier said the screenings are also to educate travelers that if they start feeling sick — with a fever, cough or flu-like symptoms — after returning from an outbreak zone, they should contact a doctor.

News4 crews saw one flight full of passengers from Beijing wearing face masks as they arrived at Dulles Tuesday.

Some of them said they came to America to escape the virus.

"The news reports in China were actually very different than America. They said that a lot less people were infected and of course we didn’t know which one to trust so we just came over here," Andy Yuan said.

Yu Shen was at the airport to pick up loved ones.

"I think the Chinese people are all gathered to fight the virus and I think we are all confident about it," he said.

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