COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)— Eight individuals in northeast Ohio were under quarantine Thursday as health officials broadened the group of people being notified that they may have had contact with a Texas nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola after visiting the area.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding its investigation to include passengers on Amber Vinson’s flight from Dallas to Cleveland last Friday.
Meanwhile, Summit County officials are looking for shoppers who were at an Akron bridal store she visited.
Officials are investigating whether she had symptoms as far back as Saturday, or possibly earlier, said Dr. Chris Braden of the CDC.
“Some more information that’s come through just recently would say that we can’t rule out the fact that she might have had the start of her illness on Friday,” he said.
The 29-year old visited family in the Akron area last weekend and flew Monday from Cleveland back to Dallas before being diagnosed.
Officials previously stressed that Vinson didn’t show symptoms during her Ohio visit, an important detail because people infected with Ebola aren’t considered contagious until they have symptoms.
Vinson had treated the Liberian man in Dallas who died of the disease, which is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids.
Braden said health officials will include passengers on Vinson’s Oct. 10 flight into Cleveland as part of their investigation of contacts, in addition to passengers on Monday’s flight.
In Ohio, Vinson was conscientious, limited her movements and mostly stayed at a home, but she did meet some friends and visit a retail store, Summit County health officials said.
“I think she was aware of what she had been through in Dallas, and so while she was here she was very careful around her family and anybody else that she was in contact (with),” said Gene Nixon, the county’s health commissioner.
Police said Vinson stayed at the home of her mother and stepfather in Tallmadge, northeast of Akron. The home has been cordoned off with yellow tape.
Six of the people quarantined are in Summit County, and two were in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, according to health officials.
They also were told the nurse’s mother was quarantined in Dallas, said Dr. Marguerite Erme, medical director for Summit County Public Health.
The agency is seeking anyone who visited Coming Attractions bridal shop in Akron between noon and 3:30 p.m. last Saturday. The store was closed Thursday. Calls to the business and a number listed for the owner rang unanswered.
Vinson has been transferred from a Dallas hospital to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
As the investigation moves forward, state health officials are asking Ohio hospitals to step back and assess their readiness for handling a potential Ebola patient and ensure they have adequate supplies of protective equipment such as gloves, masks and suits.
They recommended that hospitals conduct drills soon to practice how they would interact with such a patient and use protective gear.
President Barack Obama called Gov. John Kasich on Thursday, and the governor thanked Obama for sending five CDC personnel to Ohio, Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said. Kasich also told the president about the state’s protocol.
“The president said whatever you need, we want to help,” Nichols said.
Even as health agencies continued stressing that the risk of contracting Ebola in Ohio is slim, some school and hospital employees were staying home amid concerns that they might have had contact with Vinson.
Two hospital systems in Cleveland and a hospital in Canton said 18 of their nurses were on Vinson’s Friday flight and are on paid leave as a precaution.
At Kent State University, three employees related to Vinson have been asked to remain off campus for three weeks.
The Akron district closed an elementary school for the rest of the week and cleaned after the district learned that a parent of a student spent time with Vinson last weekend, Superintendent David James said.
He said the parent and student are now quarantined.
WKYC-TV reported that Solon City Schools in suburban Cleveland canceled classes in two buildings Thursday after learning a staff member might have flown on the same Frontier Airlines plane as Vinson, but on a different flight.
Several other districts reported employees stayed home after determining they or other people with whom they had contact may have been in close proximity to Vinson.
