'No Chance Of Ebola' School Officials Say After SoCal College Quarantine
CHULA VISTA (CBS SF) - School officials at Southwestern College campus in Chula Vista - near San Diego - say a student recently traveling in the Midwest is not exhibiting flu-like symptoms consistent with Ebola. The assertions come hours after reports that medical personnel were responding to a building on campus for a medial lock down. A spokesperson for the Southern California school has since said there is "no chance of Ebola on campus," and an updated release on the school's Facebook page indicates that "incorrect" information was released to the media indicating that County Health officials were assessing the situation.
The school confirmed an initial medical response earlier Thursday on Facebook, but would not provide additional details when contacted by CBS SF beyond this statement:
"A precaution has been taken regarding a student whose family member reported flu-like symptoms and was hospitalized. The Campus Police have cordoned off the 470 area. The County Department of Health has been called and is in transit to assess the situation."
A former KPIX 5 producer - who now works for San Diego 6 television - originally tweeted that a vomiting student on campus was on a flight that carried an infected nurse. She has since deleted that Tweet and apologized for the information about the sick student with the following:
According to the San Diego 6 website, initial information on the incident was coming to the station from a member of the school newspaper, The Sun, which told the CW affiliate that "about 20 students have been quarantined."
A short time later KUSI-TV reported that school officials say there is no need to fear an Ebola case on campus.
The school subsequently released the following statements:
On Wednesday, 29-year-old Dallas nurse Amber Joy Vinson was confirmed as the second medical professional to test positive for the Ebola virus. Medical records provided to The Associated Press by deceased Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan's family showed she inserted catheters, drew blood and dealt with Duncan's body fluids.
Before her diagnosis, Vinson flew on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth on Monday. The initial fear was that the Chula Vista student may have been on that flight. The CDC is now working to contact and monitor people who may have been on board that flight.
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