Politics & Government
Florida Monitoring 9 People for Ebola
All nine are considered low-risk, but have recently returned from Ebola-affected areas.
Florida’s new mandatory Ebola-monitoring program is only a few days old, but it already has nine people under close watch.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed Wednesday it was monitoring the nine, who are considered low-risk for the virus, according to WFLA. Those under watch recently returned from Ebola-effected countries, the station reported.
Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order earlier this week that mandates 21-day monitoring for all residents of the state who visit counties considered an Ebola risk by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The monitoring includes twice-daily check-ins with state health department officials.
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While Florida has not logged a confirmed case of the potentially fatal virus, the monitoring is meant to prevent an outbreak, Scott said.
Florida is the fourth state to order mandatory monitoring for those returning from Ebola-affected areas. Other states already testing are New York, New Jersey and Illinois.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The state is also taking other measures to prepare should an Ebola case surface here. Fifteen first-responder kits have been placed in locations around the state, The Tampa Tribune reported. In addition, the state is stocking up on “support packages” to provide extra supplies should a suspected case of Ebola present, the paper stated.
The CDC reports a total of 5,692 confirmed cases of Ebola worldwide. The total number of deaths attributed to the virus was recorded at 4,922 as of Oct. 24.
Symptoms of Ebola include fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained hemorrhaging. Symptoms can take up to 21 days after exposure to present. There is no known treatment for the virus. Recovery, the CDC says, “depends on good supportive clinical care and the patient’s immune response.”
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