Bohemia, NY - October 25, 2014 - On Thursday night, John Pearl Elementary School sent out a robo call stating that relatives of a current student traveled to Guinea, Africa, an Ebola stricken country, and recently returned. I wanted to assure our residents that there is currently no sign that these relatives contracted Ebola. I wanted to provide the facts of this situation as they were presented to me. I hope that this helps to eliminate rumors and ease the minds of my fellow parents at John Pearl Elementary School.
Upon returning to the United States, the CDC ran numerous tests which ultimately showed that these travelers had no current symptoms of Ebola. The Suffolk County Department of Health is currently working with and monitoring this family in order to take every precaution. The family that traveled does not have a student who attends John Pearl Elementary, however their relative does. This student’s family has been very willing to work with health officials and Suffolk County and will be keeping their child home for 21 days starting today, Friday, October 24, 2014, as a courtesy to other parents in order to help reduce Ebola related fears.
As I currently understand:
- This family isolated themselves in Guinea, Africa for at least 21 days before traveling back to the United States (2 to 21 days is the incubation period in which Ebola may become prevalent in a patient) Seeing no signs at the time of travel they boarded the plane and returned home.
- These relatives are currently showing no signs or symptoms of Ebola, yet they are still being monitored for precautionary reasons
- In addition, the parents and student whose relatives traveled to Guinea, Africa, have not shown any signs or symptoms of Ebola
Currently there is no reason to suspect that Ebola is in the John Pearl Elementary School or in Suffolk County. Our Health Department is currently monitoring and assessing this situation for safety reasons. The first step in preventing the spread of any disease is early intervention and the implementation of health care procedures; in this case it seems that the relatives of this student took the necessary precautions before traveling home from Guinea, Africa, helping to prevent the incubation and/or transfer of Ebola.
I personally have a child who attends John Pearl Elementary School and I can assure you that I am comfortable with sending my son to school on Monday morning. Connetquot School officials have been very diligent in assessing the situation and getting information out to our community. I will keep you all informed as I am apprised of information.
I ask that if you may have any questions or concerns to please contact the Suffolk County Department of Health at 631-854-0000 or please feel free to contact me at my office, 631-854-9611, or through my personal email at LegislatorLindsay3@gmail.com