Ebola screenings begin at 5 US airports - Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Five US airports will begin taking the temperatures of West African travelers' upon arriving here in the states, but Logan Airport is not one of them.

And although Wednesday afternoon, Logan authorities did their best to try to reassure the public that there are procedures in place in the international terminal, some travelers are wondering why more isn't being done here in the Commonwealth since Logan is an international airport.

At Newark Airport in New Jersey, there's a quarantine room set up by the CDC in a corner of the airport for taking temperatures. Other locations selected for the ramped up measures: JFK, Washington-Dulles, Chicago and Atlanta.

The federal government says those airports account for 94 percent of all people who travel between the US and affected areas of West Africa.

There are no direct flights to and from West Africa out of Logan, but that doesn't mean travelers aren't coming into Boston from the country via other destinations. Massport says Logan's international terminal has an isolation room similar to the one in the Newark airport, but still some are worried that Boston is being overlooked as a potential problem, especially given the large West African population in Rhode Island.

Our Heather Hegedus asked the director of the Infectious Disease Bureau of the Boston Public Health Commission if she's concerned that Logan isn't one of the airports stepping up health procedures.

Dr. Anita Barry, Boston Public Health Commission said, "The answer in a nutshell is no."

She went on to say, "The time from when someone is exposed to an infection to when they start to show symptoms with Ebola is anywhere from two to 21 days and that's why education of the public is critical here. You're not going to find everything at the airport."

Henry Moseley was waiting for his wife to arrive at Logan from Europe and said he thinks it's a mistake.

He pointed out that the man in Dallas who just died from Ebola, Thomas Eric Duncan, didn't fly direct. He flew into Washington-Dulles, first, then Dallas.

"Well, I think they should quarantine that whole area but if they're going to check people they should check them at all the airports they could arrive at," he said.

Still other travelers say they're just fine that Logan isn't doing anything differently for now, and worry that the extra precautions will cut into people's liberties and precious time.

"I wouldn't have the confidence that somehow taking temperatures would prevent the spread of a virus like that, so I just think it would be another way that we are harassed going through airports these days," Traveler Bob Slein said.

The White House says about 150 people will be checked per day at those five airports beginning Saturday at JFK.