Date: 202003
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZZZZ.Airport, FO
Flight conditions: VMC
Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Cruise
ATC / advisory: Tower ZZZZ
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Dispatcher
Reporter qualification: Dispatch Dispatcher
Human factors: Training / Qualification; Confusion; Time Pressure
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight; Aircraft In Service At Gate
Result: General None Reported / Taken
Contributing factors: Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; Manuals
Primary problem: Ambiguous

Narrative: Aircraft X had an escalation of cause and concern when an unidentified passenger of the flight was seen coughing and blowing mucus from the nose while at the gate area. A flight attendant on Aircraft X noticed a passenger coughing and blowing mucus from the nose. This flight attendant working the flight has a friend in [Management] and decided to call them. While enroute the Sector Manager alerted me that there is a belief that a passenger onboard may have symptoms of COVID-19 and the flight may be met at the gate by CDC (Center for Disease Control) agents. This of course necessitated an immediate call to the Captain operating the flight to ensure he and the flight deck crew were in the loop that his flight was possibly under suspicion of carry a passenger with COVID-19. The Captain called the lead Purser of the flight attendants and asked for an update. They said the passenger seemed fine now. The Captain confirmed through ACARS messaging and SATCOM updates that no preventative action was required. The flight arrived safely into ZZZ as scheduled and no CDC agents met the flight.We had a bit of a communication breakdown as misinformation caused misunderstandings. It was initially believed a flight attendant called Medlink or [Operations Control] expressing concern for passenger. This was not the case. The Sector Manager approached me with updates and informed me of CDC personnel can be expected to approach the aircraft once it reached the gate. Fortunately this did not materialize as it turned out to be a false alarm. We are going to need more information on what policies or procedures may be implemented and how can we protect a passenger if they are falsely accused of having COVID-19. And if a passenger does have it and it is known how will the passengers onboard be informed and how will suspected COVID-19 infected passenger be safely removed from the aircraft? Will the aircraft be subject to quarantine? Will the flight be isolated from terminal and remotely parked? A lot of unanswered questions. [Operations Control] is making serious efforts to address the issue with a newly dedicated support team however this information in [publication] came out the day this event actually transpired and I was unable to use that service as recommended. We can expect an escalation of these COVID-19 incidents; especially in the next two months.




Synopsis: Dispatcher reported there was concern and confusion regarding an ill passenger due to the lack of defined policy and procedures for situations involving COVID-19.