Coronavirus risk prompts CBP, CDC to deny travelers at border in Whatcom County
U.S. Customs and Protection reported travelers have been denied entry into the United States from Canada at points of entry into Whatcom County due to concerns of the spread of new coronavirus.
The number of travelers who have been stopped attempting to enter the U.S. into Whatcom County was not included in a statement emailed to The Bellingham Herald from CBP spokesperson Jason Givens, who added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is responsible for all enhanced health screening of travelers at points of entry into the U.S.
Canada, meanwhile does not have a travel ban in place relating to the COVID-19 outbreak, Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Rebecca Purdy told The Herald in an email.
But, like their U.S. counterparts, Purdy wrote that the Canadian border agency is working with national health officials to help reduce the threat at all its border crossings, including those from Whatcom County.
Both the CBP and the Canadian agency also reported they are working with their employees to make sure they remain safe and healthy.
U.S. border screening
CBP is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure travelers receive enhanced health screening if, in the past 14 days, they have been in mainland China or Iran — countries where the coronavirus spread has been greatest, Givens told The Herald. CBP officers identify those travelers during a primary inspection, and they are referred to CDC personnel for enhanced health screening.
CBP officers use travel history records, questioning of travelers, observations and self-declarations to identify which travelers require the extra CDC screening, Givens wrote. The CDC then determines whether any additional measures should be taken.
All U.S. ports of entry are following the same operational guidance issued in presidential proclamations on Feb. 29 and from Homeland Security.
Among those proclamations, foreign nationals who have been physically present in China or Iran within 14 days of their arrival at a U.S. port of entry will be denied entry unless they are immediate family of U.S. citizens, permanent residents or flight crew, Givens reported.
Canadian border screening
The Canada Border Services Agency works with the Public Health Agency of Canada to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases at all international ports of entry into Canada, Purdy reported, and it is the health agency that sets any required enhanced measures to implement.
Since Jan. 22, travelers flying into Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto international airports have been asked additional health screening questions to identify those who have been in the Hubei province of China, Purdy wrote. Those screenings were expanded to other all other Canadian international airports, and on March 4, travelers who visited Iran also received enhanced health screenings.
On Friday, March 6, enhanced screening measures were implemented at Canadian land, rail and ferry ports of entry to identify travelers who may have visited Iran or China in the past 14 days or were exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19, Purdy reported.
Increased Canadian border measures include:
▪ Additional signage to raise awareness.
▪ Health screening questions to identify travelers of concern.
▪ Providing those travelers of concern a mask kit, containing a surgical mask and directions how to use it.
▪ Instructions for travelers who visited areas of concern on how to monitor themselves, how to self isolate and how to contact local public health if symptoms develop.
▪ A Public Health Agency of Canada coronavirus form to fill out, allowing health authorities to monitor and track those identified as a potential concern and were asked to self-isolate.
“Entry screening alone is not a guarantee against the possible spread of this new virus but is an important public health tool during periods of uncertainty and part of a multilayered government response strategy,” Purdy wrote.
Protecting border officers
CBP has given all employees guidance outlining the use of Personal Protective Equipment, including wearing masks in appropriate circumstances using a risk-based approach, Givens told The Herald.
Purdy said Canada Border Services Agency also works closely with Health Canada, employees and the union to ensure the health of its officers, but she added no new measures have been added since the spread of COVID-19. She added that personal protective equipment is also available for any border service officers who are in close contact with a potentially infected traveler.
COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is the name of the disease that first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, before spreading to other countries, including the U.S. It is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
The disease is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other — what’s referred to as close contact — especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.
The CDC says it’s possible to catch COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Although 84% of the cases have been mild, the disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
So far, more than 101,000 cases have been reported worldwide, with about 3,400 deaths, the vast majority of them in China. In the U.S., at least 259 cases have been reported, including 14 deaths in Washington state out of 79 confirmed cases as of Friday morning.
The confirmed cases in Washington state are in King, Snohomish, Grant and Jefferson counties.
