SC man flew into CLT from Italy. He had coronavirus symptoms the next day, officials say

A South Carolina man who recently traveled to Italy, and later showed symptoms of the novel coronavirus, had flown into Charlotte Douglas International Airport, authorities said Monday.

The Spartanburg County resident had “no symptoms” until a day after traveling back to the U.S., said Laura Renwick, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Officials did not immediately say when the man was in the airport or when he traveled overseas.

“He is not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home,” Rewnick said in a statement to the Observer. “He had not traveled to any other U.S. airport, therefore, we don’t have reason to believe there was any risk to airport patrons.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not recommend following up with passengers on the person’s flight through CLT, Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said Monday at a news conference.

The person did not show symptoms until after arriving back in South Carolina, she said. Harris asked the public to stay calm.

For its part, the airport said in a press release Monday afternoon that the “situation is fluid” regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We continue to work closely with our local partner Mecklenburg County Public Health,” the airport stated, “which is in constant contact with state and federal partners to implement additional measures, if needed.”

Local changes

The city of Charlotte detailed a number of changes it is making in response to the virus.

For instance, it is increasing cleanings in city-operated buildings and has implemented “contamination protocol” on all Charlotte Area Transit System vehicles, including 304 buses, 83 paratransit vehicles and 42 light rail vehicles, the city said Monday afternoon.

That includes using a bleach solution on all CATS surfaces and a disinfectant fogger on light rail vehicles, according to the city.

Charlotte suspended “all non-essential” business travel Monday for city employees until further notice, according to guidelines sent to the Observer.

“We have ongoing proactive preparation and mitigation efforts under way to protect the health and safety of our employees and the public,” according to the city’s alert.

The announcement came just hours after Mecklenburg County banned “non-essential business air travel” in the wake of the novel coronavirus.

County employees who travel to countries with what the CDC calls “widespread, ongoing transmission” of the virus — or host individuals who have traveled to those affected areas — cannot return to work for at least 14 days, County Manager Dena Diorio said in an update obtained by the Observer.

City employees are also “strongly encouraged” to refrain from personal travel and will face similar quarantine measures if they travel to high-risk countries such as China or Italy.

Mecklenburg is taking additional steps to ensure county facilities are clean, Diorio wrote in the update. That includes adding “disinfecting touch points” and wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispensers in buildings, as well as checking restrooms multiple times per day to replenish supplies.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional workforce management guidance as more information becomes available,” Diorio said.

Also Monday:

▪ Hornets Sports & Entertainment, which owns the basketball team and operates Spectrum Center, said it has been in regular communication with the NBA, as well as local health officials. It has added additional cleaning staff for every Spectrum Center event, with a focus on cleaning and sanitizing surfaces throughout the building, and identified high-traffic and high-touch areas that will receive increased frequency of deep cleaning and sanitizing efforts.

▪ Blumenthal Performing Arts said it has increased hand sanitizing stations in its facilities, increased use of anti-virus cleaning products targeting doorknobs, exit door push bars and other surfaces and discontinued post-show stage door visits and autographs “for the foreseeable future.”

‘Low risk’ in NC

The CDC still designates North Carolina as “low risk” for the illness, Harris said.

That’s because there is not yet “community spread” of the virus — meaning the few cases in North Carolina were isolated incidents with an identified origin, Harris said.

“We are going to keep you informed and updated as things change, and we know they’re going to change,” she said. “I would urge calm and for people to do what they need to do to protect themselves, but not to panic at this point.”

But she said she expects Mecklenburg County will see cases of coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, in the future.

One way to limit the spread of the virus is to call a doctor or the health department before going in person if anyone shows symptoms of the new strain of coronavirus, including cough, fever and shortness of breath, Harris said.

The county launched a novel coronavirus hotline last week. Residents seeking information on the virus, or who may be experiencing symptoms, can call 980-314-9400.

Harris said testing capabilities have increased, but are still limited. The county health department and Charlotte hospitals are able to test local patients by sending samples to the state.

Staff writer Cristina Bolling contributed.

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 2:10 PM.