Two Dunwoody students who recently returned from West Africa were blocked from enrolling in DeKalb schools this week as a precaution against the spread of Ebola.
The father worked for CARE, a humanitarian organization, in the Liberia/Sierra Leone office. He arrived in the United States on Sept. 14 with his family and tried to enroll the children Wednesday at Dunwoody Elementary and Dunwoody High.
According to school officials, the family had a letter from CARE saying more than 21 days had passed since their return, which is beyond the quarantine period for Ebola. But school officials turned the students away because the district requires medical confirmation, preferably from the CDC or local health department, said district spokesman Quinn Hudson.
Abu Fofana, the father of the two students, said he took his sons, ages 7 and 13, to Emory University Hospital upon arrival in Atlanta, where they were examined for fever and asked if they were exposed to anyone infected with Ebola. Fofana said his sons had not been exposed to anyone with the deadly disease and had no fever. After the 21-day period expired, he said he took his sons to Northside Hospital where they were vaccinated and received a medical checkup.
Fofana told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he thought he gave DeKalb the necessary medical records to enroll his children. He said his sons are eager to go to school and that he would follow up with the school district Friday to see what records are needed.
“It’s frustrating, but they are doing their job,” Fofana said of DeKalb’s precautionary measures. “I don’t think I would blame them. If I was in the same situation, I would do the same thing.”
The DeKalb County school district also announced Thursday no new students from west African Ebola-affected countries can attend classes on school campuses unless approved by Superintendent Michael Thurmond.
“This is a moving target. We still don’t know enough about it,” Thurmond told the AJC. “I am being abundantly cautious.”
New students from countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and other affected areas in Africa won’t be enrolled or allowed to attend classes “without proper medical documentation and approval by the superintendent,” according to a statement from the school district.
Thurmond said he will enroll Fofana’s sons once he reviews their medical records and feels confident they do not pose a health risk.
The superintendent is urging principals and administrators to watch out for anyone exhibiting a fever in school and immediately ask if they have traveled to or come into contact with someone who has traveled to an Ebola-affected region.
If school officials encounter someone they believe exhibits symptoms, they are to immediately separate the person from contact with others and report it.
Cobb schools announced plans Thursday to take similar precautions.
The procedures are in line with national guidelines for dealing with potential Ebola cases and other infectious diseases, said DeKalb’s Hudson. The district is taking the extra step of requiring the superintendent sign off on all cases involving students from Ebola-affected regions.
Schools in Texas and Ohio closed this week amid concerns that a nurse with Ebola who flew from Cleveland to Dallas could have exposed students or parents to the disease.
And districts elsewhere are starting to screen students for Ebola, according to news reports. A small number of districts in Virginia and Texas are asking students who show up with a fever about their travel history, and new students are being questioned about visits to West Africa.
DeKalb is one of the state’s largest and most diverse school districts, with about 100,000 students. About 21,000 of those come from families that speak a language other than English at home. The district works closely with about six immigrant refugee agencies, Hudson said.
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