about 30 miles from WACO.
flight with nurse who has Ebola
Posted: Oct 15, 2014 10:39 PM CDT
By Taylor Durd
BELTON - Two Belton ISD students were on the same flight Monday as Dallas nurse, Amber Vinson, who tested positive for Ebola, Belton ISD confirmed Wednesday night. The parents of the two students, who attend Sparta Elementary School and North Belton Middle School, have decided to keep those kids out of school for 21 days.
Belton ISD held a press conference Wednesday evening assuring the district was safe for all children to attend school. Bell County Health Department Epidemiologist Lacey Sanders said they do not expect these two students to have any symptoms of the virus because of where they were seated on the plane.
“She was not symptomatic on the airplane at the time. So the CDC and the Texas Department of Health Services and myself think the possibility of any kind of spread of it is almost nonexistent,” said Sanders.
The Bell County Health Department said they are waiting on official written notice from the CDC for a reclassification of those student’s risk levels.
Several concerned parents early Wednesday evening were wrestling with whether to send their children to school.
“There’s a risk. Low risk, high risk, it doesn’t matter. It’s a risk—and that’s a risk as a parent that I’m not willing to take for my child,” said Breanna Sherburne, a parent of a student attending Sparta Elementary.
Belton ISD sent out a letter to parents at Sparta Elementary School and North Belton Middle School early Wednesday evening informing them that two students were on that flight with the second nurse who tested positive for Ebola.
She had a fever; therefore she was symptomatic.