ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press
MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government plans to begin taking the temperatures of travelers from West Africa arriving at five U.S. airports as part of a stepped-up response to the Ebola epidemic.

A federal official said Wednesday the screening will begin Saturday at New York’s JFK Airport. Screenings will start next week at Newark, Dulles, Chicago and Atlanta. The official was not authorized to describe the change by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Separately, Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Customs and Border Protection agents are handing out information sheets to travelers with details of what symptoms to look for and directions to call doctors if they become sick within 21 days — the incubation period for Ebola.