Don't sigh relief just yet.
This just raised more questions. From your article:
"after admitting a patient who believed to be infected with small pox."
"According to Dr. Leach, the patient's belief is most likely to be unfounded."
Why would the PATIENT think he had smallpox??? And based on what the patient believes, the hospital locks down?
Test results are not back yet.
Why do you think they lifted the quarantine before test results are complete?
Exactly, that popped out yelling helloooooo. Could be many reasons good and bad!!!!
Another article says they also quarantined a Wal Mart. Now they're saying it resembled "chicken pox".
Laurel hospital quarantined as precaution
Officials wanted to rule out smallpox
By ALAN MAIMON
amaimon@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Emergency officials quarantined part of a Laurel County hospital and a Wal-Mart distribution center for several hours last night after a truck driver was admitted with symptoms that resembled chickenpox.
Authorities acted because they wanted to rule out smallpox, said Joel Schrader, deputy director for information and intelligence at the Kentucky Department of Homeland Security.
The situation proved to pose no threat to public safety, said Brian Reams, Laurel County's emergency management director.
It was not clear last night how many workers the quarantine affected.
The truck driver, whose identity was not released, was traveling on Interstate 75 near London, in southeastern Kentucky, about 4:15p.m. when he reported to his company that he felt ill, said Stacy Floden, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.
The driver pulled off the road and was taken by ambulance to Marymount Medical Center about 5p.m.
Marymount decided to isolate its employees, patients and visitors. The quarantine was lifted about 10p.m. after it conferred with Dr. Rice Leach, the state's commissioner of public health.
A representative from the driver's company, Snyder Trucking, then took the truck to the Wal-Mart distribution center in London, Floden said.
The distribution center, the ambulance that took the trucker to the hospital and the area of the hospital where the driver was admitted all were quarantined as a precaution, Floden said.
Schrader said his department did not suspect terrorism.
The symptoms of chickenpox include a fever, a generally sick feeling and red skin blisters that itch.
Needs repeating.