PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A 37-year-old New York man is now remaining inside his parents Palm Beach County house after sitting near a man with coronavirus on a JetBlue flight that landed at Palm Beach International Airport on Wednesday night.
“It has me upset. It’s very frustrating,” says Scott Rodman, who was on the JetBlue flight with the coronavirus patient. “I was on the plane for five or six hours with recirculating air [with] a man who tested positive. And to tell me I can just go home, it didn’t seem like the proper advice.”
Rodman says he and the other passengers were told by a Palm Beach County Health official to monitor themselves. They were also told they likely didn’t contract coronavirus.
Rodman says the infected man was wearing a mask and wasn’t coughing, but he would still like a test to be sure.
“You just don’t know. The way they described it. The way it passes so easily, it makes you nervous,” Rodman says.
Nervous was how some air travelers were feeling on Thursday at PBIA.
“We don’t know if its respiratory droplets or some airborne piece to it. We don’t really know anything about it,” said Dr. John Garret from Maine, who arrived at PBIA wearing a mask.
Below is a statement that JetBlue released Thursday night regarding the incident:
The health and safety of our customers and crewmembers is our first priority. In reviewing last night’s event, we determined the customer boarded our flight knowing he was awaiting results for a coronavirus test without disclosing it to anyone at JetBlue. Consistent with CDC guidance, we ask all customers who are not feeling well, who believe they may have coronavirus, or who are awaiting test results to avoid travel until they are cleared by a medical professional. Last night’s event put our crewmembers, customers, and federal and local officials in an unsettling situation that could have easily been avoided, and as such, this customer will not be permitted to fly on JetBlue in the future.