R.I. to monitor travelers from China for coronavirus

PROVIDENCE People who have traveled to Rhode Island from China in the previous 14 days are being advised to stay home from work and school and monitor themselves for symptoms of the strain of coronavirus that has already killed more than 2,000 people, the state Health Department said in a news release Thursday.

Travelers from China are advised to limit their movement locally until they remain symptom-free for 14 days, after which officials no longer are concerned that they might spread their illness, the department said.

The federal Homeland Security Department has limited flights carrying travelers from China to landing at 11 U.S. airports. People traveling from Hubei Province, where the coronavirus outbreak is centered, are being quarantined near their arrival airport.

Travelers from other parts of China are screened for symptoms upon arrival. Those without symptoms are allowed to continue to their final destination, while those with symptoms are kept in isolation near the arrival airport.

Rhode Island’s Health Department is notified of anyone arriving from China and coordinates with those travelers to make sure they understand the monitoring guidelines and know how to seek medical help if needed.

“People are not traveling to Rhode Island from China if they are coming from the area where the outbreak is centered, and they are not coming to Rhode Island from China if they have symptoms,” said Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the Health Department. “Many of the travelers from China are not of Chinese origin. They are international business people. It is important that we all remember that someone’s race or ethnicity is not a risk factor for coronavirus.”

The Health Department is also taking other steps to prepare for the possible arrival of coronavirus to Rhode Island, including stepped-up monitoring for disease reports statewide and having a system in place to respond.

There have been 15 confirmed cases in the United States, none of them in Rhode Island.

“We are not seeing widespread community transmission of the virus in the United States,” said Dr. Alexander-Scott. “The risk level for Rhode Islanders right now remains low.”

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