Travelers Landing At NYC-Area Airports Concerned About Coronavirus Uncertainty
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The coronavirus outbreak remains a big concern for travelers landing back in our area.
The list of airports being used to screen all flights from China has expanded by four to 11, now including Newark Liberty International.
CBS2's Tara Jakeway checked out the situation at another on the list, John F. Kennedy International, on Sunday night.
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With a looming worldwide epidemic at the forefront of their minds, most of the passengers arriving at JFK's International terminal on Sunday were sporting the same safety accessory -- a surgical mask.
"I don't want to get coronavirus," Rakhim Yakhyaev said.
"This is scary, the airplane. I came from Bali first and Vietnam, so I was in Asia," said Allison Macina of Flushing, Queens.
CORONAVIRUS: Info from the CDC | Guidance For Travelers | N.J. Dep't of Health Info | NJ Hotline: 1 (800) 222-1222
After the first coronavirus fatality outside China happened in southeast Asia during their trip, Macina and her husband have been a bit on edge.
"A lot of people were coughing on the plane and it was kind of scary. I mean, it could be something else, but still," Macina said.
"I'm nervous right now. I'm protecting myself right now with my mask," added Andy Mendoza of Flushing.
Especially because their trip back from that region was eerily easy.
Mendoza said he was "very surprised" there wasn't additional screening.
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One woman said she's having a much harder time getting back into that region. After 30 hours in the airport, she said she'll wait as long as it takes to get home.
"I'm flying to China today," she said.
She's from the mainland where the coronavirus originated, yet she's determined to get back there to check on loved ones.
"I feel worried about ... for our country's people and for my family," she said.
With the outbreak now confirmed in more than 25 countries, Lucia Jimenez said she is concerned for her family on Long Island, where she's confident constant hand washing can replace the mask as the first line of defense against the virus.
"I feel safe. I'm home. I just took it off," Jimenez said.
But that was before she heard about the patient that may be infected at Bellevue Hospital.
Many of the passengers Jakeway spoke to Sunday were coming home to New York and upon learning about that suspected cases of coronavirus in the city they said they are not going to take their masks off after all.