Tennessee Man Diagnosed With Coronavirus Flew Through Logan Airport
NASHVILLE (CBS) – The Tennessee Department of Health announced the state's first case of coronavirus on Thursday, and said the patient recently traveled through Boston's Logan Airport.
The patient is an adult male who has mild symptoms and is quarantined at home in Tennessee.
Officials said the man tested positive for coronavirus, but a final determination will be made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Passengers at Logan Airport on Thursday admit the coronavirus is on their minds but were not surprised. "I'm sure we're going to be bumping into a lot of people who could be contagious as it spreads throughout this country now," one traveler told WBZ. "It's a concern but it won't prevent us from traveling right now."
According to Tennessee health officials, the 44-year-old man traveled on a non-stop roundtrip flight between Nashville and Boston. He did not experience any symptoms during his travels, but sought medical attention when he returned home.
"It sounds like the gentleman didn't have any symptoms of coronavirus when he was going through Logan Airport," said WBZ-TV's Dr. Mallika Marshall. "So the chance of someone getting infected without having very close contact with him is extremely low."
Massport said it has stepped up cleaning efforts on many shared surfaces at Logan where passengers are in close contact.
"It's on my mind from the standpoint of just being smart, you know, and a little more vigilant about what I touch and washing my hands more frequently," said traveler Jeff Buback. "But it's not going to stop me from doing what I need to do."
What's not clear is when the man became ill and how recently he was in Boston.