Flight attendant diagnosed with coronavirus after flights in and out of Los Angeles, reports say
LOS ANGELES - A Korean Air flight attendant tested positive for coronavirus after working on flights in and out of Los Angeles, according to reports from South Korean media.
The flight attendant worked flights between Los Angeles International Airport and Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 19 and 20, the reports stated.
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The woman had also serviced a flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Seoul on Feb. 15, South Korea's Center for Disease Control said.
The Times of Israel reported that the flight attendant was in Israel before coming to L.A., where it's believed she spent time walking around Koreatown before boarding on a return flight to Incheon, South Korea.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is aware of the Times of Israel article and is investigating, but has yet to confirm these reports.
Korean Air did not confirm the reports, but has closed its operations center at Incheon Airport in order to disinfect the area. The airline is also allowing customers to change flights free of charge as the World Health Organization's declared "global emergency" continues to spread causing fear everywhere.
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On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti assured residents that extensive precautions are being taken at the airport to help prevent the virus from spreading.
"We're disinfecting LAX every hour," Garcetti told reporters. "We're making sure that those points of entry and those places where we could see somebody come in and create a vector are secure as we can possibly make them, knowing you can never have 100% security.''
RELATED: U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea tests positive for coronavirus
The news comes after a U.S. soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea tested positive for coronavirus. This marks the first time a U.S. service member has tested positive for the virus.
As coronavirus cases continue to grow around the globe, federal health experts warn that containment efforts at our nation's borders are becoming more difficult.
RELATED: Orange County officials declare local health emergency over coronavirus
Health officials believe that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted most commonly through respiratory droplets in the air as well as close contact with an infected person or touching areas contaminated with the virus before washing. The digestive tract may also transmit the disease.
For more information on the coronavirus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
FOX 11's Hailey Winslow, Oscar Flores and Mary Stringini contributed to this report.