O'Hare passenger evaluated for Ebola in Kenosha is sent back to Liberia

Officials say the inmate appears perfectly health, and shows no symptoms of Ebola.
By Robert McCoppin,Tribune reportercontact the reporter
AfricaImmigrationEbolaNational SecurityO'Hare International AirportU.S. Customs and Border Protection

Officials say no risk from woman from Liberia detained at O'Hare and sent back.

A pregnant woman from Liberia was returned Thursday to her home country for immigration violations after being detained at O’Hare International Airport and sent to a Wisconsin jail, where she was monitored for the Ebola virus as a precaution – despite showing no signs of the illness, officials said.

The incident highlighted the need for local jails to be ready to handle potential Ebola carriers among federal immigration detainees, one official said.
The woman, who was not publicly identified, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the airport on Tuesday and deemed inadmissible for immigration reasons, according to a statement from protection officials.

As a routine procedure, because she was pregnant, she was sent to the medical unit at Kenosha County Jail early Wednesday, officials said.
cComments

Of course she came here illegally she wanted to have her child here so she would be granted asylum since the usa doesn't send back the parents of children born here even if the parents are here illegally. the only reason she was stopped was she comes from an area with Ebola otherwise she...
BARBARA303
AT 12:24 AM OCTOBER 10, 2014ADD A COMMENTSEE ALL COMMENTS
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County Jail officials said they learned the woman was from Liberia, the epicenter of the West African Ebola outbreak, when they took her through their routine intake process. Though the woman did not appear to be sick, jail guards were concerned, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said, and took precautions to isolate the woman in a separate cell.

Jail authorities then contacted officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Wisconsin health department and local hospitals in case the woman became ill, Beth said.


Corrections officials monitored the woman regularly for any symptoms, including taking her temperature twice a day, Beth said, but she never showed any signs of sickness. She was transported back to O'Hare and placed on a flight back to Liberia, according to a Customs and Border Protection statement.

After educating themselves on Ebola, Beth said, jail officials realize the virus is not believed to be transmitted by air, but only by direct contact with bodily fluids. It is believed carriers of the virus are only contagious after they develop symptoms.

While detention facilities regularly manage communicable diseases like HIV, he said, Ebola is something new that all detention facilities -- particularly those that hold federal detainees, like Kenosha and McHenry county jails -- will have to be prepared to handle.

“It’s brought to a head that we have got to update our protocol in dealing with the situation,” Beth said. “It wasn’t on our radar, and it should have been.”

Federal officials said the woman was detained and deported because she was in the country illegally. They wouldn’t elaborate, citing the federal Privacy Act, but they said her case was not related to any fears of Ebola.

Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday that they would soon begin new screening procedures for travelers from the three countries most stricken by the virus: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

At O’Hare and four other airports, border agents will begin in the coming days to look for signs of illness, ask questions about travelers’ health and exposure to the virus, and check travelers’ temperatures with a non-contact thermometer.

Those who show signs of sickness or exposure will be evaluated by CDC officials and, if necessary, referred to the proper health agencies.

bmccoppin@tribune.com







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