Since December, a new coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed at least 25 people and sickened over 800. Cases continue to spread globally, with one identified in Washington state.
In response to the evolving outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is routing U.S.-bound travelers from Wuhan to five airports for screening at JFK New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago’s O’Hare. The Chinese government has quarantined the city of Wuhan, shutting down its airport and public transportation, and expanded the public transportation shutdown to at least four more cities.
Debra Chew, a former epidemic intelligence officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and the medical director for infection prevention and control at University Hospital in Newark discusses this emerging public health concern.