Passengers At Logan Airport Fear Catching Coronavirus
BOSTON (CBS) -- Coronavirus was the number one topic at Logan Airport Saturday evening, especially among travelers coming from Asia. Air passengers arrived at Logan from a flight from Hong Kong into the city with the latest confirmed U.S. case of the coronavirus.
"Everyone was wearing masks. All the staff was wearing masks. All the passengers were wearing masks, so people are still kind of paranoid," said passenger Jeffrey McDonald.
Relatives waiting for passengers were especially nervous.
"I've heard that on their flight there are lots of people from mainland China actually," said Koyi Lee. "So it's gonna be really tough to see if there's anyone on the flight that has had a problem or anything like that."
Alyson Gounden Rock was there to greet her son who has been studying in Hong Kong.
"I'm kind of relieved that he's coming back from Hong Kong. He was there to do a student project on the protests," Gounden Rock said. "I didn't think I was gonna be worried about the coronavirus."
A UMass Boston student landed at Logan Tuesday night, returning from Wuhan, China. He arrived one day before the airport began screening for the coronavirus. He only had a runny nose when he landed, but he sought medical attention the next day when he felt worse.
"We are fortunate in that the man quickly recognized that he was sick, that he was at risk for this infection and sought medical care quickly," said Dr. Larry Madoff of the Department of Public Health. "The contacts were very few, you could really count them on our fingers, and they include household members and medical personnel who treated him."
The patient is now isolated at home, not in a hospital.
"He is doing quite well. From a clinical perspective he does not require hospitalization support," said Dr. Jennifer Lo of the Boston Public Health Commission.
