Dallas parents wary of Ebola, officials tracing contacts
By Bill Hanna
Star-Telegram.com
Wednesday, Oct. 01, 2014
DALLAS — Parents rushed to get their children from school Wednesday after learning five students may have had contact with the Ebola victim in a Dallas hospital, as Gov. Rick Perry and other leaders reassured the public there is no cause for alarm.
The patient, identified by The Associated Press as Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia, arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 20 to visit family. Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson said county officials suspect 12 to 18 people may have come in contact with Duncan.
“Right now the base number is 18 people, and that could increase,” he said. Thompson said more details are expected by Thursday afternoon. The number includes five students at four different schools, Dallas school district Superintendent Mike Miles said.
“This case is serious,” Perry said at a press conference in Dallas at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Duncan is being treated. “Rest assured that our system is working as it should. Professionals on every level on the chain of command know what to do to minimize this potential risk to the people of Texas and of this country.”
Miles said DISD officials learned Wednesday morning that five students at four different schools — Tasby Middle School, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School, Dan D. Rogers Elementary and Conrad High School — had come in contact with Duncan. Lowe Elementary is also being watched because it connects to Tasby.
“Since none of the students had symptoms, I’m pretty confident that none of the kids were exposed,” Miles said.
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