Sick passenger sparks coronavirus concerns at Los Angeles airport, officials say

A passenger traveling from Mexico City to Los Angeles International Airport was taken to a hospital amid concerns of the coronavirus outbreak originating in China, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The traveler, who hasn’t been identified, arrived on American Airlines Flight 2546 on Jan. 22 and was examined by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They recommended that the person be taken to a hospital and an ambulance arrived, LAX spokesperson/ Heath Montgomery told the Los Angeles Times.

The man was “transported to a medical center for disease control for precautionary reasons,” American Airlines spokesperson Curtis Blessing told USA Today.

The virus has infected hundreds of people and killed at least 17 in China, USA Today reported.

If coronavirus is confirmed for the man, it would be the first in California. The first U.S. case was confirmed on Jan. 21 in a Washington man in his 30s who traveled from Wuhan, The Washington Post reported. He’s in “stable condition.”

Los Angeles County public health officials said that it would be “very possible” that the city would see at least one person infected with the virus due to the travelers coming from China, Fox 5 reported.

The CDC began screening passengers from Wuhan at LAX, San Francisco International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jan. 18. The agency also started screening at international airports in Atlanta and Chicago.

This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Sick passenger sparks coronavirus concerns at Los Angeles airport, officials say."