The Washington Post reports that a State Department spokeswoman had previously confirmed that a health worker who “may have” handled lab specimens from the man who died of Ebola in Texas was on board a cruise ship. And that they were working with the cruise line to safely bring them back to the United States out of an abundance of caution. The ship was previously unidentified and the worker was said to be self-monitoring with no symptoms.
They now provide a quote from the Government of Belize and identify the ship as the Carnival Cruise ship “Magic” , it was being kept offshore because of a health worker who had contact with an Ebola patient and further that passengers were not being permitted into the country.:
The Government of Belize was contacted today by officers of the U.S. Government and made aware of a cruise ship passenger considered of very low risk for Ebola. The passenger had voluntarily entered quarantine on board the ship and remains free of any fever or other symptoms of illness. The Ebola virus may only be spread by patients who are experiencing fever and symptoms of illness and so the US Government had emphasized the very low risk category in this case. Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, the Government of Belize decided not to facilitate a U.S. request for assistance in evacuating the passenger through the Phillip Goldson International Airport.
The GOB reassures the public that the passenger never set foot in Belize and while we remain in close contact with US officials we have maintained the position that when even the smallest doubt remains, we will ensure the health and safety of the Belizean people. The Prime Minister has called a press conference tomorrow morning to further address any concerns that may arise from this event.
Belize News
Belize Confirms Patient With Ebola Symptoms On Cruise Ship Off Its Coast
Reports tonight are that two individuals possibly infected with the Ebola virus are in Belizean waters. Local TV station Channel 7 monitored in the capital City Of Belmopan tonight, reported having credible reports that a couple from a Texas-based cruise ship presently anchored off Belize City, is on a ship tender, unable to return to the cruise ship, while being refused entry to Belize City to catch an air ambulance awaiting at the International Airport to take them to the their country of origin, the U.S.A. The television station in its broadcast tonight said Belize health authorities contacted tonight have so far refused to deny or confirm the report. The patient exhibiting Ebola symptoms has been confirmed to be a nurse at a Dallas hospital traveling with her husband.
Later tonight in breaking news, Channel 5 Belize reported that it has:
“Confirmed with representatives of the Ministry of Health that they have indeed received a report that there is at least one passenger on board the cruise ship, Carnival Magic, showing symptoms similar to that of the Ebola virus. According to the report made to MOH, the person exhibiting the symptoms did not come ashore today. The ship is reportedly carrying 3652 passengers and a total population of 4633 persons.
“The Carnival Magic departed from Galveston Texas on Sunday, October 12 arrived in Mahogany Bay, Honduras on Wednesday October 15 and arrived in Belize this morning, Thursday October 16.
I realize that there are conflicts in the quoted reports. It is just breaking. Who to believe?
UPDATE
Washington Post (now updated) says:
Belize refuses entry to Carnival cruise ship carrying Texas hospital worker who may have handled Ebola victim’s specimen
A Texas health-care worker who “may have” handled lab specimens from Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has been isolated in a cabin on board a commercial cruise ship in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Department of State. And Belize Coast Guard won’t let the vessel or any of its thousands of passengers into port.
The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital employee and a partner boarded the ship Oct. 12 in Galveston, Tex., before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the requirement for active monitoring, the State Department said in a statement. Although the worker is showing no symptoms of the disease, the U.S. government is working with the cruise line to get the ship back to America “out of an abundance of caution.”
UPDATE 2
http://www.reuters.com/...
The person left the country before being notified of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) updated requirement for active monitoring, the statement said.
The Government of Belize said in a statement hours earlier that it had denied a request by U.S. officials to use a Belizean airport to transport a cruise ship passenger considered to be a very low risk for Ebola.
"The passenger never set foot in Belize," the statement said. "When even the smallest doubt remains, we will ensure the health and safety of the Belizean people."
UPDATE 3
http://www.nytimes.com/...
The employee and a traveling partner, who were not identified by name, had agreed to remain isolated in a cabin aboard the vessel, the State Department said, and “out of an abundance of caution” efforts were underway to repatriate them. A physician aboard the cruise ship had said the employee was in good health.
News reports quoting an official statement from the government of Belize said the ship was still in that country’s waters, but the authorities there refused to allow American officials to evacuate the passengers through their territory.
[...]
Ms. Psaki said that, as part of the C.D.C.'s “detailed contact trace investigation conducted in response to the first Ebola case in Dallas, it was discovered that an employee of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital had departed the United States via a commercial cruise ship on Oct. 12 from Galveston, Tex.”
“The employee did not have direct contact” with Mr. Duncan, the statement said, “but may have had contact with clinical specimens collected from him.”
“The individual was out of the country before being notified of the C.D.C.'s updated requirements for active monitoring,” her statement said. “At the time the hospital employee left the country, C.D.C. was requiring only self-monitoring.”
UPDATE 4
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
A Texas health-care worker who “may have” handled lab specimens from Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has been isolated on board a Carnival cruise ship in the Caribbean. The worker has shown no symptoms of the disease, according to Carnival, which said it is in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control. A Carnival spokeswoman said the guest, who was not named, will remain on board in voluntary isolation until the ship returns to its home port of Galveston on Sunday.