The Trump administration will soon add more countries to its no-admission list at airports due to concerns of surging coronavirus cases in those places, according to the country’s top transportation security official.
“There will be additional countries,” said Transportation Security Administrator Administrator David Pekoske in a Senate hearing Tuesday. “I think those announcements will be relatively soon.”
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia asked Pekoske when “two” countries would be added. Pekoske did not respond to the suggestions of a number or share which countries the United States will target.
Chinese and Iranian citizens are blocked from entering the U.S. at any land, sea, or air port of entry due to widespread coronavirus cases. China has reported the most cases at more than 80,000. Iran is up to 2,300, according to figures released Tuesday.
South Korea and Italy are not on the no-fly list, but the countries have seen huge spikes in cases over the past week. South Korea reported more than 5,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and Italy surpassed 2,500 cases on Tuesday, according to new numbers. Mexico has five cases, all travelers arriving from Italy in late February, according to data released by the Mexican Ministry of Health.
TSA requires airline employees at 280 non-U.S. airports that are considered last-point departure airports for people flying to America to ask passengers about their health and look at passports to ensure they have not been to one of the listed countries within the past 14 days. U.S. citizens are allowed to return from China and Iran, but they are directed to one of 11 U.S. airports where Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials will do a medical screening upon their arrival in customs. Pekoske said he did not know how many non-U.S. citizens had been turned away after trying to travel to the U.S. since the bans against China and Iran went into effect.
The agency is looking at how to staff security checkpoints should a portion of its workforce be exposed to passengers with the virus and be forced to quarantine or becomes ill. Pekoske said the agency is advising officers on how to protect themselves.
“I do feel we have the resources and capability,” said Pekoske, adding an employee phone app is also being used to get internal information from headquarters to officers in the field. “We will have contingency plans in place should we have a lot of … people call in sick. But at the same time, I think we’ll see lower passenger volumes.”
The U.S. Travel Association’s Leading Travel Index predicted Tuesday that international inbound travel will fall 6% over the next three months.
More than 100 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S. across 15 states. Six people have died from the virus, all Washington state residents. A total of 70 countries have confirmed coronavirus cases.
