The United States will force all flights from countries that have Ebola outbreaks to five airports to allow more through screening for the virus.
Anyone flying into the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea will now have to travel through JFK in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Dulles in Washington, D.C., Atlanta or Chicago. The move goes into effect immediately according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“We are working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement. “If not already handled by the airlines, the few impacted travelers should contact the airlines for rebooking, as needed.”
Johnson said that 94% of passengers from those areas reportedly already come through those airports, so it should have minimal impact on the worldwide airline flight schedules.
“We currently have in place measures to identify and screen anyone at all land, sea and air ports of entry into the United States who we have reason to believe has been present in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea in the preceding 21 days,” Johnson said.
A Washington-based travel group told Reuters that an average of 150 per day come into the U.S. from those countries.
The long fight against the Ebola virus received very good news Tuesday when two African nations were declared free of the virus.
Nigeria and Senegal, who both combined had 20 cases of the virus and 7 deaths (all in Nigeria), have been free of any new cases for six weeks.
“This is a spectacular success story,” World Health Organization Representative Rui Gama Vaz told Reuters. “It shows that Ebola can be contained, but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.”
The government of Nigeria was given praise considering the virus was discovered in Lagos, a city of 21 million where tracing contacts of residents can be almost impossible.
“Nigeria was not really prepared for the outbreak, but the swift response from the federal government, state governments (and) international organizations … was essential,” said Samuel Matoka, IFRC Ebola operations manager for Lagos. “The swiftness and fastness of the reaction from all parties, helped to contain Ebola in Nigeria.”
The World Health Organization says Nigeria could be a model for nations around the world in dealing with Ebola.
Concerns over Ebola have shut down schools in two states.
Two public schools in Ohio are closed because staff members were on the same flight as Amber Vinson, the second nurse who contracted Ebola and flew from Ohio to Texas with a low grade fever.
An e-mail was sent to parents of children at Solon Middle School and Parkside Elementary School.
“This circumstance came to light late in the day and we have been working since then to get as much information as possible from public health authorities,” the district’s email read.
“Although we believe what the science community and public health officials are telling us about the low risk of possible transmission of the virus through indirect contact, we are nonetheless taking the unusual step of closing the dual school building for Thursday so that we can have the schools cleaned and disinfected.”
The Belton Independent School District in Texas closed all three schools because of two students who were on the flight.
“Canceling classes at the three campuses will allow us to thoroughly clean and disinfect the schools and buses that served them this week. It will also allow health officials additional time to re-assess the health risk to passengers on the plane,” said Belton Superintendent Susan Kincannon in a statement. “I’m frustrated that we didn’t learn until late tonight that the CDC was re-evaluating the health risk. The health and safety of our students is my first priority.”
Yet the CDC allowed the latest American to be infected with the virus to fly on an airplane after showing a low-grade fever.
The Centers for Disease Control admits they allowed Amber Vinson of Dallas to fly from Cleveland to Dallas with a fever of 99.5.
“Although she did not report any symptoms and she did not meet the fever threshold of 100.4, she did report at that time she took her temperature and found it to be 99.5,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden. “I don’t think that changes the level of risk of people around her. She did not vomit, she was not bleeding, so the level of risk of people around her would be extremely low.”
However, the CDC is contacting everyone who was on the flight about their possible exposure to Ebola.
“Those who have exposures to Ebola, she should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” said Dr. Frieden. “The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for controlled movement. That can include a charter plane; that can include a car; but it does not include public transport. We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement.”
The plane was used for five additional flights before it was taken out of service.
The second nurse infected with Ebola after treating Thomas Eric Duncan has been taken to Emory University in Atlanta to be placed in isolation.
The Centers for Disease Control confirmed they have flown Amber Vinson to Emory University Hospital because the hospital has successfully treated two other Ebola patients, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol.
“She was rapidly isolated, tested, and the presumptive test was positive. Fellow nurse Nina Pham, who is improving, will remain at Texas Health Presbyterian,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said.
Dr. Frieden said that while ill, Vinson is clinically “stable”.
Texas Governor Rick Perry praised the doctors and those treating the victims.
“This is the first time that our nation has had to deal with a threat such as this,” Perry said. “Everyone is working on this challenge — from the medical professionals at the bedside to the public officials addressing containment of the infection — is working to end the threat posed by this disease. These individuals are keeping the health and safety of Texans and the needs of the patients as their most critical tasks. Every relevant agency at the local, state and national levels is working to support these individuals.”
The United Nations says that the Ebola crisis in west Africa could end up bringing a widespread famine that leads to more deaths than the virus will end up causing at the end of the outbreak.
The announcement came on the eve of the UN’s World Food Day Thursday.
“The world is mobilizing and we need to reach the smallest villages in the most remote locations,” Denise Brown, the U.N. World Food Program’s regional director for West Africa, said in a statement Wednesday. “Indications are that things will get worse before they improve. How much worse depends on us all.”
The World Food Program says that over 1.3 million people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are lacking enough food. The organization says they don’t have enough supplies for everyone and currently are able to reach up to 700,000 people a month.
The WFP is providing food to families of Ebola victims.
“We are assessing how families are coping as the virus keeps spreading,” an organization spokesman said. “We expect to have a better understanding of the impact of the Ebola outbreak on food availability and farming activities by the end of October.”
A second nurse who treated Thomas Eric Duncan has Ebola.
The Centers for Disease Control says that not only does Amber Vinson, 26, have the virus, but that she also traveled on an airplane Monday just before she reported having symptoms.
Vinson had been monitoring herself after treating Duncan and self-reported a fever Tuesday morning. She was immediately placed into isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
She is the second of 77 healthcare workers who have been self-monitoring to watch for signs of Ebola.
The CDC says that Vinson lived alone and had no pets. Her home is being sanitized along with all her furniture, bedding and clothing incinerated.
The first nurse to show infection, Nina Pham, worked a different shift than Vinson and the two reportedly had no contact.
Nina Pham, the 26-year-old intensive care unit nurse who has been infected with Ebola, has been given a blood transfusion from Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly.
Officials with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital gave the transfusion to Pham on Monday. A priest in Pham’s congregation told reporters that she was doing better after the transfusion.
“I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers,” Pham said in a statement released by the hospital. “I am blessed by the support of family and friends.”
CBS Dallas says that one person who had close contact with Pham is now under hospital observation but has not developed any signs of Ebola.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization released a statement saying at the current spread of infection, it’s possible to have 10,000 new cases a week starting in December.
Dr. Kent Brantly, the Christian doctor who was one of the first Americans to be infected with Ebola during the current outbreak, says that conditions in Africa are worse than you see on television.
You’ve seen the news reports, and I can assure you, the reality on the ground in West Africa is worse than the worst report you’ve seen. And our attention and our efforts need to be on loving the people there,” he said.
“Let’s stop talking about that highly improbable thing [of an outbreak in America] and focus on saving people’s lives and stopping the outbreak where it is. God saved my life… He used some incredible people and unbelievable circumstances to do that … I want to live in that reality forever.”
Dr. Brantly called the attention being paid to Ebola possibly breaking out in the United States “panic.”
“I just want to tell everyone that yes, Ebola is a serious devastating disease and for those number of people who have been identified as contacts of an Ebola patient, they need to be monitoring themselves, they need to be cooperating with the authorities, with the CDC, and it’s very serious for them, but for the rest of us we don’t need to be worried,” Dr. Brantly said.
“I am particularly thrilled to be alive,” Brantly added.
A nurse who treated the Liberian who arrived in Texas infected with Ebola has been confirmed to be infected with the virus.
“A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the Ebola patient hospitalized there has tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test at the state public health laboratory in Austin,” reads a statement issued Sunday morning by the Texas Department of State Health Services. “Confirmatory testing will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.”
The head of state health services said he was not surprised to see someone else become infected with the virus.
“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility,” said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. “We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”
The CDC was quick to claim the infection had to be a mistake on the part of the nurse, despite having no evidence to back up that claim.
