Coronavirus screening causes massive bottlenecks at O'Hare and other U.S. airports

[lostnfound]

Source: Washington Post

Coronavirus screening causes massive bottlenecks at O’Hare and other U.S. airports
Long lines at airports worldwide as coronavirus spurs cancellations and travel bans

Airport staffs around the world dealt with masses of passengers trying to get home on March 12 after various countries put coronavirus travel bans into effect. (The Washington Post)

By Mark Guarino,
Derek Hawkins,
Hannah Knowles and
Katherine Shaver
March 15, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. EDT

CHICAGO — Airports nationwide were thrown into chaos this weekend as workers scrambled to roll out the Trump administration’s hastily arranged health screenings for travelers returning from Europe.
Scores of anxious passengers said they encountered jam-packed terminals, long lines and hours of delays as they waited to be questioned by health authorities at some of the busiest travel hubs in the United States.

The administration announced the “enhanced entry screenings” Friday as part of a suite of travel restrictions and other strategies aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Passengers on flights from more than two dozen countries in Europe are being routed through 13 U.S. airports, where workers are checking their medical histories, examining them for symptoms and instructing them to self-quarantine.

But shortly after taking effect, the measures designed to prevent new infections in the United States created the exact conditions that facilitate the spread of the highly contagious virus, with throngs of people standing shoulder to shoulder in bottlenecks.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2020/03/14/europe-travel-ban-airport-delays/

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I love how the first paragraph is written in passive voice, “Airport staffs nationwide were thrown into chaos this weekend as workers scrambled to roll out...”

The subject of that sentence is...? Airports. They were “thrown into chaos”. By whom? Apparently by workers scrambling.

Uggh. How about, “Trump’s stupid and very-badly-communicated European travel ban caused perfect situations for accelerating a deadly epidemic at airports across the U.S.”

One stupid decision by one guy wipes out 100,000 good decisions people are making in their own little lives to stay home and avoid crowds. Atrocious and tragic and infuriating.

[lostnfound]

1. O'Hare airport photo

?resize=1800,1200&w=1200

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Those people were canned in like sardines

There would have been less exposure to just let them in and disperse

[lostnfound]

3. Dallas Fort Worth airport photo

?ixlib=rails-2.1.4&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&h=1268&w=1848

[mucifer]

4. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot got the white house to agree to deputize EMTs to screen people

It's insane!

It should be TSA hiring more people. Our city doesn't have the money for this.

[jls4561]

5. Let me point out that if the orange maggot had not gone "Boom! Air travel shutdown!"

and caused people to think "OMG! I've got to get home NOW!" those long lines at customs would not have occurred. Sure. the airlines have cut flights, but if the administration (and I use that term loosely) had talked to the airlines, and planned to deploy sufficient personnel, the chaos (I would use another word that rhymes with cluster duck, but my dear departed momma would not be pleased)
might have been avoided.

Also, it is my understanding that people who came off these flights receive a health screening, not a test for COVID. What is a "health screening"? Do they ask: Do you have a cough? Do you have a fever? Hav you eaten a pangolin recently?

It would be interesting to know just how many people who rushed back from Europe and were in these crowded conditions get the virus.

Sorry, but I'm very angry.

[lostnfound]

6. I am also very angry. This was absurd, dangerous, and probably accelerated cases ALOT

Really, like the decision by the people in charge of the Diamond Princess decision, it seems custom-designed to ADD to the risk and CREATE more contagious people.

The dim whit house couldn’t screw it up any more than this if they were trying. Short of compelling them to swap forks and kiss or something.

[stillcool]

7. Everything Trump touches dies...big time.

he's a talking catastrophe...cause, does he do anything else?