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Ebola hysteria sweeps US schools: Teacher who visited Dallas told not to come to work as hundreds of Mississippi parents pull kids school because principal visited Zambia... 3,000 miles from countries hit by the disease
- Maine elementary teacher stayed 9.5 miles from Ebola hospital in Texas
- She has been ordered into isolation for 21 days amid 'parents' concerns'
- In Mississippi, hundreds of parents pulled kids from middle school after principal visited Zambia - a country 3,000 miles from Ebola-hit nations
- Parents at nearby high school also removed children to 'avoid risk'
A Maine elementary school teacher has been barred from school after visiting Dallas, Texas, where Ebola patients have been treated - despite having no contact with any suspected sufferers.
It comes after hundreds of parents removed their children from a middle school in Mississippi because the principal visited Zambia - 3,000 miles from any countries struck by the deadly disease.
The drastic measures across the United States follow news that the CDC is not entirely sure how to control the virus.
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Drastic: A teacher has been ordered to stay away from Strong Elementary School in Strong, Maine, after going to an education
conference in Dallas, Texas, and staying 9.5 miles from the Ebola-hit Presbyterian Hospital
Fears: Hundreds of parents removed their children from Hazlehurst Middle School amid fears of Ebola after Principal Lee Wannik visited Zambia, which is 3,000 miles away from countries hit by the virulent disease
Officials revealed the teacher at Strong Elementary School in Strong, Maine, was placed on mandatory 21-day leave after going to an educational conference and staying in a hotel 9.5 miles from Texas Health Presbyterian, where 'patient zero' Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed and treated before he died.
She was one of five million people who commute through the Texas city.
However, the school cited 'parents' concerns' and ordered the teacher to remain in isolation for three weeks - the incubation period for Ebola, Portland Press Herald reported.
'At this time, we have no information to suggest that this staff member has been in contact with anyone who has been exposed to Ebola,' the district wrote in a statement published on its website.
'However, the district and the staff member understand the parents' concerns. Therefore, after several discussions with the staff member, out of an abundance of caution, this staff member has been placed on a paid leave of absence for up to 21 days.'
Despite one scare over a patient who tested negative for the disease earlier this week, there have been no Ebola cases in Maine.
Nowhere near: Principal Wannik was on the other side of Africa from Ebola-hit nations for his brother's funeral
Crowds: Streams of families were crowded into the school gym to fill out absence forms
Meanwhile in Mississippi, a rumor emerged that Principal Lee Wannik of Hazlehurst Middle School had traveled to Nigeria, prompting swarms of parents to remove their children from the school on Wednesday.
In fact, he had been attending his brother's funeral in Zambia, which is on the other side of Africa from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone where the disease has wreaked havoc.
Families at a nearby high school also filled out forms requesting a temporary absence for their child, telling journalists they would 'rather be safe than sorry'.
Fears were escalated further when Principal Wannik then decided to go on leave and seek medical attention because he did not want to be a 'distraction'.
'He did not want to be a distraction to the educational process and decided to take personal vacation leave and volunteered to go see any additional medical help that he could,' Superintendent John Sullivan told WAPT.
Scare: Hazmat teams rushed to a bus station in Dallas yesterday after a woman who doesn't have Ebola spat
Yesterday, panic hit Dallas, with a bus and train station brought to a standstill, after a woman reportedly vomited at the facility, sparking fears she had Ebola, but the transit authority now say she was never on a watchlist as someone exposed to the virus.
Panic broke out after the woman exited a northbound train at the White Rock Station and was sick on the platform, leading the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system to close the station as a precaution.
However authorities have now said that, contrary to reports, the woman was not on a watch list of potential people exposed to the virus and had only spat on the platform.
Dallas Fire-Rescue have revealed that the woman did live in the same apartment complex as 'patient zero' Thomas Eric Duncan, who was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 30 after catching the deadly virus will in Liberia.
And while she had no contact with the man, who died on October 8, officials were still treating the situation very seriously.
The incident highlights the heightened state of awareness of the dangers of spreading the disease, especially in Dallas, where the Liberian national became the first person infected with the virus to die in the United States.
Two nurses who cared for him have also contracted the virus.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
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