Airport Says DHS Not Screening People Coming Into US From Virus-Stricken Italy Or South Korea

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

A major airport in Atlanta has admitted that neither its own officials, nor the Department of Homeland Security are screening travellers arriving from Italy or South Korea, two countries where the coronavirus has hit the hardest outside of China.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia announced that while the CDC has demanded screening of passengers from China and Iran, no such screening is taking place for those coming in from Italy/South Korea, “because those countries are doing exit screenings.”

As per the CDC, In the US, airports are conducting entry screening for travelers from China and Iran.
People aren’t being screened when they arrive from Italy/South Korea, because those countries are doing exit screenings.
For more info, please visit: https://t.co/2dgrl0KFhr *NA

— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) March 8, 2020

So, essentially, officials in the US are relying on the word of their foreign counterparts that sufficient screening is happening before people leave.

This jives with reports from those entering the US after returning from Italy, confirming that they were not stopped or screened.

Italy was yesterday placed on complete lockdown after deaths increased by nearly 60 percent overnight. From today, the movement of Italy’s population of 60 million has been severely limited by the government there, with travel only being permitted for “urgent, verifiable work situations and emergencies or health reasons”.

In South Korea there are almost 8000 cases of infections.

On Friday, President Trump told the media that “The tests are all perfect”:

“The [coronavirus] tests are all perfect. Like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. This was not a perfect as that, but pretty good.” — is Trump referring to the transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president here? pic.twitter.com/FU5XxPTu7Z

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2020