BOSTON (WHDH) - Gov. Charlie Baker is trying to calm fears and reassure the public as the deadly coronavirus forces China to lock down the large city of Wuhan where the virus began.
The virus has killed more than a dozen people and sickened hundreds. In the U.S., only one confirmed case has been reported in the Seattle area sparking concern across the nation and here at home.
“Our Department of Public Health, based on its conversations with its colleagues at the federal level, is that the risk here is very low,” Baker said
Nine passengers onboard a Cathay Pacific flight that landed at Boston’s Logan International Airport Wednesday night were screened upon arrival from Hong Kong.
Officials say these actions were taken out of an abundance of caution and that none of the passengers exhibited signs of the illness.
“Whatever the screening procedure they pursued on those particular people for whatever reason, there is nothing that came of it,” Baker said.
The Chinese government is taking serious steps to stop the spread of the virus by imposing a travel ban in Wuhan, where it has hit the hardest.
The governor said that what is happening there is unprecedented but that U.S. health officials are taking appropriate precautions.
“I think the most important thing for us to do is to make sure that we stay at the hip of our colleagues at the federal level so that we are completely informed on what they know and if there’s anything they need us to do here, that we jump on it.”
While there are no cases of the coronavirus here in Mass., DPH officials have issued an advisory to local healthcare providers.
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