10/17/2014
The unnamed 63-year-old died during the flight from Lagos to New York
CDC and Port Authority boarded plane with 145 passengers on board
They confirmed after a short test he did not have the deadly virus
Door connecting the aircraft with the terminal was open the whole time
Ordeal prompted concern from New York Congressman Peter King
In a letter to Homeland Security, he wrote: 'How could you tell so quickly?'
Added it was worrying considering 'how wrong the CDC has been over the past few weeks'
source
A 63-year-old man died during a flight from Nigeria to New York's JFK after vomiting profusely - but it was only a 'cursory' exam by the CDC that confirmed he did not have Ebola.
The passenger boarded an Arik Air plane out of Lagos, Nigeria, on Wednesday night, but passed away before the plane reached its final destination.
Flight attendants called the CDC, Port Authority and customs officials, who then boarded the plane as it touched down, forcing 145 worried passengers to remain on board.
The authorities then conducted tests on the body and it was only a short evaluation that suggested he did not have the deadly virus, prompting concerns there are still 'vulnerabilities' in airports.
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Scare: The passenger, 65, boarded an Arik Air plane out of Lagos, Nigeria, on Wednesday night, but passed away before the plane reached its final destination (file picture)
According to The New York Post the unidentified man's body was then handed overt to the Port Authority who removed it from the plane, with the CDC allegedly providing little information on how to deal with the remains.
Throughout the ordeal, the door connecting the aircraft to the terminal was left open, prompting worries from Republican Congressman Peter King that there are not enough checks in place before reaching the screening process.
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, he wrote: 'It was what I was told a cursory examination. The Port Authority cops and personnel from Customs and Border Protection were there, and they were told there was no danger because the person did not have Ebola,' King said.
'But their concern was, how could you tell so quickly? And what adds to the concern is how wrong the CDC has been over the past few weeks.'
Demonstration: A protester stands outside the White House, urging the Obama administration to ban all flights into the United States to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus
His letter goes on to demand that Homeland Security needs to strengthen protocols before reaching the screening location - concerned of what happens to potentially infected passengers in flight and at the terminal itself.
He added: 'These individuals transit the airport with the rest of the traveling population, including using the restrooms,' King wrote to Jeh Johnson, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in a letter Thursday.
Nigeria is 1,000 miles east of the three West African countries suffering from an Ebola outbreak, but has had 19 cases of the virus.
However there have been no new patients in recent months and, according to the World Health Organization, if there are no more by Monday, they will officially be declared 'Ebola-free.'
Up to 100 passengers a day arrive at JFK from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three West African countries ravaged by the outbreak King said.
Concern: The scare at JFK involving the passenger from Nigeria prompted Republican Congressman Peter King to write to the Department of Homeland Security, suggesting there are still 'vulnerabilities' at airports
Action needed: The representative for New York's 2nd District asked if the potential of having isolation zones within the terminal had been looked at
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