Hoosier Traveler Says Screenings Created Chaos After Return From International Trip

The federal government abruptly put updated travel screenings in place over the weekend to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. One central Indiana woman who flew through O’Hare says they may have made the spread worse.

Liz Manasek and her husband returned to the U.S. Saturday after a trip to Iceland. When they arrived in Chicago before a connection to Indianapolis, she says, it was chaos.

"There are people all over the place, and I start to get increasingly concerned that we are standing there,” she says.

READ MORE: What Do You Need To Know About Coronavirus? We’ve Got Answers.

Manasek says they stood in a customs line for hours packed in with others returning from around the world. Then they went to a second line to get their temperature taken. She says it was crowded, with very little guidance and there appeared to be no sanitary precautions. 

"If we get sick, we did not pick up the coronavirus in Iceland,” Manasek says. “We picked up the coronavirus in O’Hare International Airport with a thousand other people. That is where I am going to tell you we picked up the coronavirus.”

Manasek does not believe the airport was prepared for the influx of returning travelers. Federal officials say the situation was unacceptable, but has improved. Manasek and her husband must quarantine for 14 days. So far, they have no symptoms of COVID-19.

Contact Darian at dbenson@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @helloimdarian.

This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Indiana State Department of Health for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.