Full title:
Emirates Flight Held At JFK Airport After Several Reported Sick On Boardhttps://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/09/05 ... assengers/$1:
Emirates Flight 203 landed in New York Wednesday shortly after 9 a.m. with 500 people on board. It was a direct flight from Dubai and did not make a stop in Mecca as the New York mayor’s office erroneously reported earlier.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., Emirates Airlines said only about 10 passengers from Dubai had taken ill. Previous reports estimated the number of sick passengers at closer to 100 people.
“On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities,” it said. “All others will disembark shortly. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority.”
A government source briefed on situation said there was no evidence of a security or terror issue. Emirates‘ home office told U.S. officials it believes this incident was caused by food poisoning.
The flight did not go to a terminal but was directed to a hard stand area as emergency medical response teams investigated the cause of the illness.
Eric Phillips, spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, noted health officials were taking people off the plane one by one checking for symptoms and sending those cleared on to customs.
KSFO 560AM in San Francisco is reporting that this flight has been quarantined by the CDC.
They're also reporting that a significant flu outbreak has been observed and reported in Mecca by Bahrain authorities who are on site in Mecca.
Also, KSFO is digging in to what may be a related story in that China is withholding data on a flu outbreak of theirs. They are refusing to share the data with CDC and WHO partners.
NYT mentions this today:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/heal ... mples.htmlSomeone at the Pentagon referred to this as 'indirect biological warfare' and there's speculation that this is in retaliation for the Trump Administration moving to shut down the so-called 'Confucius Institutes' that are spreading Chinese government propaganda on US college campuses.