An ambulance employee caused an uproar on the Internet because he was not wearing protective gear while accompanying Dallas Ebola nurse from Dallas to Atlanta on Wednesday.
The man was identified as an employee with the air ambulance company that transported Amber Vinson to Emory in Atlanta via private jet on Wednesday.
The employee monitored the transport team who wore bulky protective gear with limited peripheral vision. It was his job to watch the crew’s every move to make sure they followed strict protocol while transporting Ms. Vinson, who was diagnosed with Ebola on Tuesday.
The reason he is not wearing a protective hazmat suit is because he was never in direct contact with Ms. Vinson.
The Ebola virus — like the HIV virus — is not airborne. It is not communicable through the air like the common cold or the flu virus.
There is no need to fear casual contact with an Ebola patient. You will not be infected by standing near or sitting next to an Ebola patient.
The Ebola virus is only infectious through direct contact with the infected person’s blood or bodily fluids.
In related news, Nina Pham, the 2nd person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., will be moved from Dallas to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, for further treatment.
Pham, who tested positive for Ebola on Sunday, is listed in stable condition. She is being moved after staff nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital threatened to walk off the job.
Pham contracted Ebola from Liberian national Thomas Duncan, who died on Oct. 8. She was Duncan’s primary nurse.
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