CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — People flying in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport say it’s concerning that a plane arriving there carrying two passengers from a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak.
They said they are not sure the level of threat the virus poses.
“It’s little nerve wracking,” traveler Rhyen Minter told Channel 2’s Tom Jones on Channel 2 Action News at 5:00 p.m.
Minter has heard the Department of Public Health say the Hantavirus poses no threat to the public at this time.
“But that’s also what they said at the beginning of the Covid pandemic,” she said.
So, when she heard the plane landed carrying two passengers from the cruise ship, she worried about the virus spreading.
“I don’t like being sick. I don’t have that kind of time in my life,” she said.
The passengers were taken to Emory University Hospital’s Serious Communicable Diseases unit where they are being monitored.
Once again, the Department of Public Health says there is no threat to the public at this time.
“As of right now,” traveler Rodrigo Thierry stressed, paying attention to DPH’s statement saying there’s no threat at this time.
Thierry is not taking any chances. He says he wears a mask whenever he travels these days.
“I’m just taking precautions because I like to be safe,” he said.
Jones talked to so many travelers who had no idea about the virus and hadn’t heard about the outbreak. Some travelers say they’d like to hear from the experts before getting concerned.
However, they say hearing about quarantined passengers arriving here does sound serious.
“Yeah. That’s kind of scary, right?” said traveler Matt Hargrave.
Some travelers said they remember Covid, which started out with a few patients and kept growing. They said they hope this isn’t a repeat of that.
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