The possibility that a now-deceased Ebola patient could have spread the virus to fellow travelers as he waited in a Virginia airport has prompted several state lawmakers to ask Governor McAuliffe to use his authority to impose travel restrictions on Dulles Airport.
But the state’s Health Commissioner cautions against overkill … and says Virginia's health professionals are doing everything they can to keep the situation under control.
Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine tells a Senate panel that medical professionals have conducted screenings of people in Virginia who may be at risk. But tests of three people so far have found no reason to lock down Dulles International or create widespread panic. She does not rule out that Ebola could one day show up in Virginia, but if it does, there are precautions in place. She says since 9-11 and the anthrax scare, the commonwealth has improved its hospital preparedness program.
Senator Emmett Hangar says while the Centers for Disease Control and its handling of the Ebola cases in Texas have been criticized, he is not so quick to judge. He says most of Virginia’s health coordinators are in sync with CDC protocols, and he believes that both are quite competent.
