Sunday, October 5, 2014

EBOLA ON A PLANE - CDC Keeps Passengers on Airplane At Newark Airport as Man Shows Ebola Symptoms






Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials were called to Newark Liberty International Airport Saturday after a passenger believed to be from Liberia showed signs of possible Ebola symptoms.

The passenger was reportedly vomiting as the flight landed in New Jersey and was immediately taken to University Hospital in Newark for further evaluation, according to ABC News.

A CDC Hazmat crew, fully dressed in protective gear, removed the passenger and his daughter from United Airlines flight 998 arriving from Brussels, ABC reported.

The remaining passengers were quarantined, but have since been allowed to leave after the passenger in question was reportedly determined noncontagious.

A senior federal official told ABC News that the man exhibited “flu-like” symptoms.

“He’s now being treated with protocols as if he has it, but no clear indication at this point that he does,” the official said.

The airline’s immediate statement:

“Upon arrival at Newark Airport from Brussels, medical professionals instructed that customers and crew of United flight 998 remain on board until they could assist an ill customer,” the statement said. “We are working with authorities and will accommodate our customers as quickly as we can.” A travel ban to the countries facing an Ebola outbreak could paradoxically make the problem worse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said during a Saturday press conference. Frieden said the CDC would consider any and all precautions, but warned that a travel ban could make it harder to get medical care and aid workers to regions dealing with the outbreak. He cited the recent delay African Union aid workers experienced trying to get to Liberia.

“Their ability to get there was delayed by about a week because their flight was canceled and they were stuck in a neighboring country,” he said. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden vowed to “stop Ebola in its tracks” in the United States while acknowledging that the Dallas outbreak could become larger than one case. “I’m not going to promise that we can stop this at just one case, but I can tell you we have the advantage because the right steps are being taken,

Officials said on Saturday that a sick passenger and his daughter that were taken off a flight from Brussels to Newark over fears he might have Ebola, does not have the disease, ABC News reported. The pair, who are believed to be from Liberia, had been escorted off the plane by officials in HAZMAT gear from the Centers for Disease Control.

A flight was quarantined at Newark Airport this afternoon after two passengers became sick, prompting fears of Ebola. According to the News, a father and daughter (who are believed to be from Liberia) were removed from United Airlines Flight 998 after flying seven hours from Brussels. The father was vomiting and "exhibiting symptoms believed to be associated with Ebola" during the flight, but the CDC has now cleared him of Ebola. United released this statement about the plane, which contained 255 passengers, and was quarantined for nearly two hours: "Upon arrival at Newark Airport from Brussels, medical professionals instructed that customers and crew of United flight 998 remain on board until they could assist an ill customer. We are working with authorities and will accommodate our customers as quickly as we can."

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