TSA installs new barriers at JFK Airport to keep passengers, employees safe

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

TSA installs new barriers at JFK Airport to keep passengers, employees safe

The TSA has installed acrylic barriers at JFK Airport to protect passengers and the workforce from COVID-19.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The TSA has installed acrylic barriers at JFK Airport to protect passengers and the workforce from COVID-19.

The barriers were installed in areas where TSA officers interact with passengers, including the travel document checking podium and the area where passengers get their carry-on items screened.

The agency hopes to prevent the spread of coronavirus with the new equipment.

Meanwhile, the CDC is strongly recommending that passengers on planes, trains and buses wear masks, but it's still stopping short of requiring face coverings to prevent spreading COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus is still being transmitted in the U.S. and internationally through travel. The CDC says masks should be worn by all passengers and workers on planes, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-sharing vehicles.

That includes in airports and at subway and bus stations.

All leading U.S. airlines require passengers other than small children to wear masks during flights, but enforcement can be spotty.

The Federal Aviation Administration has declined to require masks.

Marcus Solis has more on the latest update to the Tri-State Travel Advisory as COVID cases rise.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MORE NEWS: Watch Eyewitness to a Pandemic

The sense of doom grew, especially after March 1, when the first confirmed case arrived in Manhattan. Soon, there was a hotspot in New Rochelle, and small curfews and containment zones across the area offered a hint of a frightening future we still thought we could avoid.