A passenger on a JetBlue flight from JFK Airport has tested positive for the coronavirus after landing in Palm Beach, Florida, according to reports.
Flight 253, with 114 passengers and crew aboard, landed at Palm Beach International Airport shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday but remained on the tarmac for about three hours, according to WPTV.
One of the passengers told the station that a man near him was taken to the back of the aircraft.
“He was wearing masks and gloves. His wife was sitting in the same row as me and mentioned to others that he wasn’t feeling well,” Scott Rodman said.
“She said he had gotten a phone call with his test results right before we had taken off, implying that he had a positive test but not actually saying it,” he added.
Just before 11 p.m., two people wearing masks and gloves were seen walking off the plane, WPBF reported. About a half-hour later, the rest of the passengers were allowed off.
Palm Beach Fire Rescue officials told WPTV that the Florida Department of Health had spoken with all the passengers and that the isolated area where they deplaned was being sterilized.
Passengers who had been sitting near the infected flier also were given instructions to call the Health Department with any concerns.
“An individual on this flight got a text that he tested positive for the coronavirus,” Dr. Alina Alonso, health chief in Palm Beach County, told passengers at the airport, according to WPTV.
“He has not been coughing or sneezing or anything on the plane. At this point, you’re free to walk around and move around because, most likely, you’re not going to have anything because there was no activity. The way you get this virus is somebody has to cough or sneeze on you,” she added.
Rodman said he didn’t “feel good” about the episode.
“The guy was sitting, you know, five feet from me, and his wife was sitting two feet from me, so no, I’m not feeling great about it,” he told the outlet.
A JetBlue spokesman told The Post that the airline is urging any customers “who do not feel well or are concerned they may have coronavirus to not fly until cleared to travel by a doctor or health professional.”
“JetBlue is currently waiving change and cancellation fees to allow customers the opportunity to change or pause their travel plans should they need to,” rep Derek Dombrowski said in an email.
“In last night’s case, our crewmembers did an incredible job coordinating with health authorities. After health officials allowed customers to disembark, we conducted a thorough sanitizing of the aircraft according to CDC guidance,” Dombrowski said.
“We have also sanitized common areas in both airport terminals involved. We will continue to coordinate closely with health officials and provide them any additional information required,” he added.
The Florida Health Department said it worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to conduct an extensive epidemiological investigation to determine which passengers may have had close contact with the individual.
“Any individual who is a close contact with this individual will be informed to self-monitor and will be contacted further by the Palm Beach County Health Department. The individual who tested positive is isolated at this time,” agency spokesman Alex Shaw told The Post in an email.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was informed late Wednesday that one of the passengers aboard the flight, which had departed from JFK’s Terminal 5, alerted the crew that he’d been notified about a positive coronavirus test, a rep for the agency said.
“JetBlue immediately commenced additional cleaning of the Gate 7 area, where the flight departed, as well as surrounding gates, the security checkpoints, check-in counters and kiosks, elevators, restrooms and any other area the passenger went through based on security camera footage,” Port Authority spokeswoman Lindsay Kryzak said in a statement to The Post.
“This is on top of the enhanced cleaning protocols that have been in have been in place at JFK Airport. These protocols include at least twice daily sanitization of all common and high-touchpoint areas with EPA-approved and CDC-endorsed antiviral disinfectants, in addition to overnight deep cleaning of all terminal areas,” she added.