The woman, who holds a Macau (not, as earlier reported, a Hong Kong) passport, flew in from China to South Korea, and from there she arrived on Saipan, Friday evening, via T’Way Airlines, Variety learned.
The official, who declined to be identified, told Variety that South Korean airport officials did not screen her properly, but allowed her to travel to Saipan even though her passport indicated that she had recently been in mainland China.
The woman has a valid U.S. visa, the official added.
To be on the “safe side,” the woman, who was not allowed to leave the Saipan airport, was “removed” from the island on the following day, Saturday, the official said.
The official added that T’Way Airlines initially refused to return her to South Korea, saying that its officials would not allow it.
But the official said CBP has to enforce President Donald Trump’s proclamation on the “suspension of entry…of persons who pose a risk of transmitting the 2019 novel coronavirus.”
CBP has banned the entry of vessels or aircraft into the CNMI if its passengers or any crew members have visited mainland China within the last 14 days.
T’Way Airlines, for its part, said it did not refuse to fly back the woman.
