WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets national health policy, and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that Newark Liberty International Airport is being added to the list of ports of entries with stepped-up passenger screenings for the deadly Novel Coronavirus that has sickened more than 4,500 and killed over 100 people worldwide. The senators had been pressing U.S. health officials to include Newark, the nation’s fifth busiest airport be added.

“As more cases of coronavirus spike across the globe, we must do everything we can to protect Americans here at home. That starts by ensuring all passengers traveling from the affected regions are properly and thoroughly screened upon arrival in the U.S. It is only prudent that any robust and comprehensive public health response include stepped-up efforts at each of our country’s major ports of entry—including Newark Liberty International Airport,” said Sens. Menendez and Booker. “There is no question that Newark Liberty is one of the nation’s busiest airports with daily flights arriving from all over the world. We are pleased that the CDC has answered our repeated requests and included Newark Liberty in the agency’s response plan.”

New Jersey’s senators joined several colleagues yesterday in demanding an update on the coronavirus outbreak from U.S. health officials. Last week, Sen. Menendez co-hosted an all-Senators briefing with top Trump Administration health officials regarding the outbreak.

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