LI Congressman Demands Action to Address Ebola 'Vulnerabilities' at JFK Airport

Rep. Peter King says there are “apparent on-going vulnerabilities” at JFK International Airport that could expose airport personnel and the traveling public to Ebola.

“It is vital that more be done to provide training to these individuals and implement protocols should an infected passenger transit the airport,” King said, referring to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, police and first responders.

King, R-Seaford, made the comments Thursday in a letter addressed to Jeh Johnson, the secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Gil Kerlikowske, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

King’s letter comes on the same day that a Connecticut hospital is treating a patient with Ebola-like symptoms.

There are between 70-100 people per day arriving at JFK from countries impacted by the Ebola outbreak, over two-thirds of the total number of passengers of concern entering the United States daily, King wrote.

“There individuals transit the airport with the rest of the traveling population, including using restrooms,” King wrote. “It is only after they arrive at the CBP primary screening location that they are separated and sent to a secondary inspection for a medical check and to complete the questionnaire.”

A 63-year-old man died on a JFK-bound plane from Nigeria Thursday morning, causing Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Health Department members to swarm the plane upon landing, but the man died of a heart attack, not Ebola, the New York Daily News reported.

King, however, said in his letter that he had “very serious concerns” about “the cursory exam” conducted by a CDC official to determine that the passenger did not have Ebola.

At a new conference Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters that he wouldn’t be surprised if someone in New York became infected with the deadly virus, according to a New York Observer report. But the governor warned that there was “no reason for undue anxiety, no reason for panic.”

State Sen. Lee Zeldin, R-Shirley, said Thursday that the ”government’s response [to Ebola] has been far from re-assuring to Americans” and he renewed a call for President Obama to suspend travel to and from West Africa.

“We have a serious crisis on our hands,” said Zeldin, who is running for Congress. “Ebola continues to rapidly spread and become a global threat, as Americans are now becoming infected. We must act swiftly and much more proactively to prevent an outbreak here in the United States.”

Is the government doing enough to combat Ebola in the U.S.? Should travel be suspended to and from infected countries? Sound off in the comments section below.

Photo: Flickr/Creative Commons/Doug Letterman

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