Ebola

A Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that two thirds of Americans are worried about an Ebola epidemic in the United States, and more than 4 in 10 are very or somewhat worried that they or a close family member might catch the virus. Michael Luke-Anthony, who cleans the cabins of airplanes at John F. Kennedy International Airport:

My fear is, the whole Ebola situation, it can get anywhere. It got from Liberia to Texas. It’s traveling quick. It could be in one of those planes.

The Giants receive a primer on the virus before traveling to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. Eli Manning:

With what we’re doing and where we’re staying, I think we’ll be OK.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who is overseeing the Ebola response, says the county Medical Director will sign a control order that will follow minimum guidelines outlined by the CDC blocking people being monitored for Ebola symptoms from using public transportation, including buses and airliners. He says workers weren’t instructed by Presbyterian or the CDC to stay away from the public during the 21-day monitoring period.

No one told them, which is something that is profoundly disappointing to me, but this is something that we’ve got to fix quickly. We cannot have people on common carriers like DART trains, airplanes or buses who might get sick.

A photo shows an unidentified passenger at Washington Dulles wearing a hazmat suit while waiting for a flight. The transparent blue plastic suit does not cover her wrists.

The CDC advises residents of New York City to prepare in a report titled Surveillance and Preparedness for Ebola Virus Disease — New York City, 2014. (Report available here) . It says the city remains Ebola-free but advises officials on what to look for and what to do if the virus is detected. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has identified 88 people arriving from the Ebola nations thought to have symptoms of the virus. All were cleared, but some diagnoses were delayed as lab workers were reluctant to handle specimens. Report:

New York City is a frequent port of entry for travelers from West Africa, a home to communities of West African immigrants who travel back to their home countries, and a home to healthcare workers who travel to West Africa to treat Ebola patients

The Independent reports that 4,000 children in west Africa have been orphaned by the virus, and that number could rise as the UN predicts 10,000 new cases per week. It reports that last month, two children orphaned by the virus starved to death, as aid workers weren’t able to reach them. The newspaper interviews the head of the Street Child charity, who says food prices have risen by up to 100% in Ebola-affected areas of the country, and people are afraid to go out to the fields or to market. Especially in places under quarantine, this leaves people vulnerable:

Life in those districts – it’s like holding your breath: you can do it for a while, but you can’t do it for huge periods. It’s the most vulnerable that reach the sharp end first.

A Dallas lab worker, thought to have handled specimens from Thomas Eric Duncan, is quarantined aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Belize. The Belize coast guard refuses to allow the ship to dock or passengers to disembark. Carnival Cruise Lines:

At no point in time has the individual exhibited any symptoms or signs of infection and it has been 19 days since she was in the lab with the testing samples. She is deemed by CDC to be very low risk. At this time, the guest remains in isolation on board the ship and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew. It is important to reiterate that the individual has no symptoms and has been isolated in an extreme abundance of caution. We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board.

Belize government:

The government of Belize reassures the public that the passenger never set foot in Belize and while we remain in close contact with U.S. officials we have maintained the position that when even the smallest doubt remains, we will ensure the health and safety of the Belizean people.