Governor and U.S. Senators petition CDC to provide additional airport protections
ST. PAUL, MN - As additional Ebola screenings got underway at five international airports across the country over the weekend, Governor Mark Dayton, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, and U.S. Senator Al Franken are urging the federal government to include the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) in the enhanced screening effort.
In /governor/assets/2014_10_13_frieden_tom_cdc_letter.pdf_tcm1055-91839.pdfa letter sent today to Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Governor Dayton, Senator Klobuchar, and Senator Franken asked that federal officials reconsider their decision not to conduct screenings at MSP. The letter follows a special Cabinet meeting Governor Dayton called last Thursday with representatives from the Metropolitan Airports Commission and the CDC, assessing the state's Ebola preparedness and prevention efforts.
"The Ebola experience in Dallas, Texas has taught us that even one case of Ebola in our state or country can have devastating consequences," wrote Dayton, Klobuchar, and Franken in their letter to CDC Director Frieden.
"Our request is that the CDC conduct heightened screenings of all passengers with Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in their travel history when they arrive at MSP...We hope to work with you to do everything we can to prevent the disease from spreading to Minnesota."
If the additional Ebola screenings are implemented at MSP, travelers whose flights originated in Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra Leone would go through a series of steps when they arrive at the airport. First, travelers would be required to fill out a health declaration form with the CDC, stating where they are traveling from, where exactly they will be staying in Minnesota, and whether they have had any contact with an Ebola patient. Medical professionals with the CDC would also conduct a visual examination of each passenger, and take their temperatures to determine whether they are exhibiting symptoms of Ebola.
Additional information about Ebola is
available on the Minnesota Department of Health website. More information about additional Ebola screenings at five U.S. airports
is available on the CDC website.
