If someone is incubating an infectious disease, it could be passed on to everyone touched in sequence.
Are they changing gloves??
I am extremely, dangerously allergic to latex. Are they wearing latex gloves? Do they have vinyl replacements?
The blue gloves are made of “nitrile”; they’re non-allergenic. I use various grades of nitrile gloves (rather than other materials) in the laboratory for several reasons one of which is the allergy issue.
I’d ask them. They have policy contingencies for a lot of various scenarios.
People also should understand that you can have a witness present during your groping.
At our local airport, which does not have scanners, the local police have officers stationed around at all times the airport is open & most of them are right there at the security check area so you can have a cop witness if you want. The local PD also has one K9 they bring around often.
Again, this is coming directly from my contacts at TSA as well as personal experience.
There is no reason to be alone with a TSA agent during a pat down. None whatsoever. Believe me, the agents don’t want to be alone with passengers either.