LAX PUBLIC STATEMENT AND Q&As ON
SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)
General Statement:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working with LAX operations staff, the Los Angeles Fire Department (the airport's emergency first responders), and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to ensure travelers to/from Asian countries are informed about POSSIBLE exposure to Severe Acure Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and what they should do should they begin to exhibit any of the SARS symptoms.
More than two weeks ago (March 19), U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services (i.e., federal public health) workers began monitoring ALL passengers deplaning at LAX on flights from Guangdong Province, China (which is a part of mainland China), Hong Kong and Hanoi (Vietnam) -- per a U.S. Public Health/CDC advisory at that time. The federal public health workers also began distributing multi-language Health Alert Notices in English/Chinese/Korean/Vietnamese.
Since then, the U.S. Public Health Service has expanded risk areas to all of mainland China and Singapore. In addition, the Health Alert Notices are now being distributed to all deplaning passengers from Asian countries that may have connecting flights to the U.S. LAX has an average of 25 daily nonstop and direct (i.e., same flight number stops at one or two airports then comes to LAX) flights from the Far East to LAX. There are also an average of 25 connecting flights from other U.S. cities where passengers from Asia catch connecting flights to LAX. Please note that federal public health workers are currently working with 22 other U.S. airports (total 23) with flights from Asia and are conducting similar procedures at these airports.
The Health Alert Notices advise passengers that they MAY have been exposed to SARS if they traveled to or through certain Asian countries, that they "should monitor their health for at least 7 days," and that if they "become ill with fever accompanied by cough or difficulty in breathing" they should consult a physician. A copy of the alert is available at http://www.cdc.gov
At this point in time, no cases of SARS have been reported at LAX. In the meantime, U.S. Public Health officials at LAX have advised airport and airline officials that if a suspected case of SARS is reported onboard an inbound flight, federal public health officials and LAFD paramedics will respond as requested, and it is unnecessary to isolate the aircraft. Passenger(s) reporting or exhibiting SARS-like symptoms will be assessed and isolated, if necessary. If passengers exhibit acute symptoms, they will be transported to a hospital, as needed.
Passengers seated two rows around any suspected case(s) will be advised to take their temperatures every two hours and monitor their medical condition for 10 days. Airlines are also being advised that the level of disinfecting that occurs during normal aircraft cabin cleaning between flights should be sufficient (see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/aircraftcleanup.htm for cleaning aircraft guidelines).
All passengers on a flight where a suspect SARS case has been evaluated are asked to complete contact information sheets so they may be contacted, if necessary. Otherwise, passengers who do not exhibit or report any SARS-like symptoms will be processed through federal inspection services (i.e., INS, U.S. Customs, U.S. Agriculture, etc.) in a normal manner.
The federal public health officials are the first line of defense before any cases of passengers reporting or exhibiting SARS-like symptoms come into contact with the general public at LAX. They are supported by over a thousand officers from other federal inspection agencies at LAX, including the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who are also monitoring arriving international passengers for issues of public health concern.
Further media questions can be directed to the closest public health service public information officer in Southern California, Maria Iacobo of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, at (213) 240-8144. ONLY if the reporter is on deadline and it is after-hours, media may be referred to her 24-hour pager at (213) 990-7107.
The CDC Media Relations Office has a 24-hour, live operator at (404) 639-3286, and its website address is http://www.cdc.gov.
Also, following are some questions-and-answers based upon media inquiries we have received:
Q1: How many flights does LAX have from Asia?
LAX has about 25 daily nonstop and direct flights (may stop more than once but continues to have the same flight number) FROM Asia, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. There are an additional 25 connecting flights from Asia (i.e., Asian flights that land at another U.S. airport and then connecting passengers board flights to LAX). Public health officials at these other airports are conducting similar procedures before passengers connect to LAX.
Q2: What is the impact of SARS on operations at LAX?
It is difficult to separate the operational impacts of SARS with the impacts due to the Iraqi war. In general, the number of operations (i.e., landings and takeoffs) has not been affected. For example, there have been consistently nearly 1,750 operations daily at LAX. This number has not changed during the last three weeks since before the war and SARS. However, the passenger loads per flight at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (where nearly 40 airlines operate) has dropped from the mid-70 percent level three weeks ago to the low-50 to mid-50 percent range this week.
Q3: What about Toronto or other Canada flights?
The U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services/CDC reports that it is coordinating their efforts with Canadian public health officials. (Please refer media to the CDC.) At the present time, the federal public health service reports it does not see a need to conduct the same type of screening and alerting procedures for inbound flights from Toronto or other Canadian cities because the transmission pattern of the disease is different from the general community transmission experienced in the risk areas in Asia. Airport officials have been told that if the pattern of transmission changes in Canada such that it warrants instituting similar monitoring and alerting procedures on inbound Canadian flights, we will be notified by the federal public health service.
Q4: We want to take some film footage/photographs and/or talk to passengers from Asia. Where do we go?
Most of the Asian-based air carriers at LAX operate out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. China Southern (Guangzhou) operates out of Terminal 5. Northwest Airlines operates out of Terminal 2. TBIT's peak arrival time for inbound Asian flights is during mid-day 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Q5: What if an aircraft has a hundred or so passengers with SARS, would the plane be quarantined upon arrival?
This is a speculative question. The decision to quarantine an inbound flight at LAX is made by the U.S. Dept. Health & Human Services/CDC (i.e., U.S. public health authorities). Please note that last week the World Health Organization advised health officials in risk areas to monitor passengers boarding flights in order to minimize the transmission of the disease. (See http://www.who.org for details of this advisory.)
Q6: Could what happened at Norm Mineta San Jose International Airport on April 1 happen at LAX?
If an airline pilot and its airline operations staff at LAX should request that an inbound flight be parked at a "remote" gate away from its normal terminal gate due to a passenger exhibiting SARS-like symptoms onboard, LAX Operations staff would support that request. Please remember that it turned out that the five passengers reporting or exhibiting SARS-like symptoms on that were checked by public health officials there and the incident resulted in none of those passengers being diagnosed with SARS.
Q7: Does the airport recommend passengers wear face masks while traveling?
There is no U.S. Dept. Health &Human Services/CDC advisory to this effect. That is the prerogative of the passenger. The CDC does advise the general public to practice good hygiene such as watching their hands frequently soap and water, similar to general advice given to avoid contracting other types of flu. It is recognized that people may choose to be cautious in taking additional means to alleviate their fears about being exposed to infected droplets (i.e., sneezing, coughing, etc.) and wear such masks during a flight.
Q8: How many public health workers are assigned to LAX?
The U.S. Dept. Health & Human Services has always had a presence at LAX -- even before Sept. 11. They simply are not as well recognized as the INS, U.S. Customs and U.S. Dept. Agriculture officers. Multi-lingual LAX Visitors Service Representatives are assisting the federal agency's LAX staff with distributing the Health Alert Notices to arriving international passengers from Asian countries, so that the public health officials can focus their attention on monitoring, detecting and isolating inbound passengers who report or exhibit SARS-like symptoms. This public health team is complemented by over 1,000 federal U.S. Customs, INS, Agriculture and other federal agency officials who process international arriving passengers on a daily basis. Please call the U.S. Dept. Health & Human Services/CDC in Atlanta (see above phone number) for a specific answer to this question.
Q9: Does the airport recommend passengers fly/postpone their travel plans to Asia?
Whether or not a passenger decides to fly is an individual decision.
Q10: What is being done to protect LAX workers?
Public health officials at LAX are meeting inbound flights from Asia and distributing information to passengers. Passengers exhibiting SARS-like symptoms would be assessed and isolated from the general public, if needed. Public health officials at LAX are conducting briefings with airline, other federal agencies and airport personnel and providing information that can be distributed to their respective employees. In general, airport workers are being advised to follow good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands frequently with soap and water.
Q11: Where else can the public get information about SARS?
The CDC's Office of Communication is conducting several media conferences and the complete transcriptions are made available on its website at http://www.cdc.gov. Press releases and Frequently Asked Questions are also available on its website. CDC's emergency hotlines with live operators are being heavily used for SARS inquiries: in English at (888) 246-2675; in Spanish at (888) 246-2857; and TTY at (866) 874-2646.
Q12: What are the procedures to call a quarantine?
Quarantines at LAX can only be called by public health service officials. There are federal, state and local quarantine laws regarding restricting people's movements. Please contact federal, state and local public health services.
Q13: Are there any travel restrictions?
It is recognized that both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services/Center for Disease Control and Prevention have issued travel restriction advisories to parts of Asia. Please see both of their websites for these travel advisories.
