A WestJet plane arriving from Canada was temporarily contained on the tarmac of John Wayne Airport after a 2-year-old with meningitis was reported on board Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The child was hospitalized but was quickly released after she was determined not to have meningitis, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The WestJet plane was stopped at Gate 2 of the Santa Ana airport, Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Larry Kurtz said. The fire department was called to the airport at 2:30 p.m. with a report that a 2-year-old with meningitis was on board a plane, Kurtz said.
Authorities initially said the flight was “quarantined,” but later revised that to say the flight was simply “contained” for 15 to 20 minutes while first responders consulted with the local health care agency.
WestJet Flight 1754 from Vancouver arrived at 2:15 p.m. and passengers were “cleared” 40 minutes later, the airport stated on Twitter.
The child was taken to Children’s Hospital of Orange County with a high fever and some other signs of meningitis that prompted concerns, authorities on scene said.
The toddler was found not to have meningitis and was released, CHOC spokeswoman Denise Almazan said about 5:30 p.m.
Because it was not clear if the child indeed had meningitis, names and phone numbers for the 125 passengers on board were collected in case they need to be contacted about a possible illness, Kurtz said.
A Fire Authority spokesman had earlier said the child was taken to a different hospital.
Multiple emergency vehicles were at the airport, aerial video showed.