U.S. Surgeon General praises COVID prevention at CLT, despite passenger concerns
Charlotte’s airport received high praise on Friday from U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams for its COVID-19 prevention steps.
“Shout out to @CLTAirport,” Adams tweeted. “They definitely are promoting public health measures and mask compliance was well over 90%! (definitely made me feel safer than in some other airports I’ve been in).”
Adams included a picture in his tweet of an airport placard titled “Keep It Rockin’, which also depicted a person with a face mask on one of the airport’s ubiquitous rocking chairs.
The placard lists ways the airport is helping prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, including enhanced cleaning, hand sanitizer stations, protective shields in service areas and employees wearing face coverings.
The placard asks airport users to practice social distancing, wear a face covering, wash hands often and avoid unnecessary physical contact.
“Change takes time but it is occurring!” Adams said to his 861,000 Twitter followers.
In a reply tweet, the airport welcomed the surgeon general to Charlotte.
“We extend your kind words to our partners who are helping us make the travel experience safe for everyone!” the airport tweeted. “Let’s see you#RocktheMask.
Passenger concerns
The surgeon general’s remarks appeared to contrast with the experiences of some other Charlotte airport passengers this summer.
On July 31, the Observer reported how some passengers said they felt unsafe walking through the airport. They were upset by the lack of social distancing and mask-wearing, they said.
Also, COVID-19 cases among Transportation Security Administration agents at the airport nearly tripled in less than a month, the Observer reported Aug. 4.
Some 24 TSA agents working at CLT have tested positive for the virus, all but two of whom screen passengers, the Observer reported.
Adams, meanwhile, didn’t identify the airline on which flew to Charlotte.
In a followup tweet, he said it wasn’t Delta, and he missed the “hand sanitizer, wipes, and individually wrapped water/snacks” that Delta gives passengers when they board.
“These seemingly small safety measures give people greater confidence to travel (IMHO). Greater public confidence => more flights,” Adams tweeted.