An employee of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has been isolated aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean, the U.S. State Department said today. The ship was turned away from a second port, Cozumel, at which it normally calls and is on its way back to Galveston, Texas, authorities said.
The hospital worker may have processed fluid specimens from "index patient" Thomas Eric Duncan. The unidentified lab worker, a woman traveling with her husband, boarded the cruise ship Carnival Magic in Galveston on Sunday.
The statement by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "The employee has been self-monitoring, including daily temperature checks, since Oct. 6, and has not had a fever or demonstrated any symptoms of illness. It has been 19 days since the passenger may have processed the since deceased patient’s fluid samples. The cruise line has actively supported CDC’s efforts to speak with the individual, whom the cruise ship’s medical doctor has monitored and confirmed was in good health.
"Following this examination, the hospital employee and traveling partner have voluntarily remained isolated in a cabin. We are working with the cruise line to safely bring them back to the United States out of an abundance of caution."
ABC News reported Friday that the ship had been turned away from Cozumel and was steaming back to Texas.
Television news in Belize reported that the Carnival Magic was anchored off Belize City. “The ship was scheduled to leave Belize en route to Cozumel this evening at 5 p.m., " Belize Channel 5 reported. "However, it is still anchored in Belizean waters near State Bank Caye.”
“We have also have confirmed that the Belize Coast Guard has been deployed to prevent anyone from leaving the ship; including the Belizean pilot on board.”
A Carnival spokeswoman told the Washington Post, however, that the ship made its scheduled visit to Belize Thursday. “Passengers were free to disembark there for the day other than the guest and her traveling companion who are in voluntary isolation,” the Post quoted the spokeswoman as saying.
On its website, the government of Belize "assures the public the passenger never set foot in Belize."
In a press release posted Thursday night, the government said, The GOB (govrernment of Belize) "was contacted today by officers of the U.S. government and made aware of a cruise ship passenger considered of very low risk for Ebola…. Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, the Government of Belize decided not to facilitate a U.S. request for assistance in evacuating the passenger through the Phillip Goldson International Airport.”
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