Other schools are doing it a lot. Would FCPS follow suit?


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updated 6:19 PM EDT 10.29.14
School bars girl over Ebola fears; suit filed
By Ray Sanchez, CNN
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Lawsuit: School banned girl over Ebola
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(CNN) - The family of a third-grader in Connecticut has filed a lawsuit against Milford Public Schools, saying their daughter was banned from school for 21 days amid Ebola fears when she returned from a trip to Lagos, Nigeria, for a family wedding.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges that Ikeoluwa Opayemi was not allowed to return to Meadowside Elementary School in Milford "based on fears" of the deadly Ebola outbreak in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Most of the more than 13,700 confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola have been diagnosed in those three countries, according to the World Health Organization. The United Nations' health authority projected that deaths from the virus have exceeded 5,000.

"I think it's outrageous how this child was treated," said Gary Phelan, the attorney for the girl's family. "At some point, making a medical decision has to be based on medical information, not fear."

In a statement Wednesday, Milford Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Feser denied that the school's response was improper.

"In addressing this situation, at all times, my staff and I proceeded in good faith to respond to this public health issue," the statement said. "We acted in the best interest of all of our students and staff."

Phelan said the decision to keep Ikeoluwa out of school came after complaints from parents of her classmates.

The girl's father, Stephen Opayemi, was told by city officials that if he tried to bring his daughter to school, police would remove her, the lawyer said.

Ikeoluwa has not been diagnosed with Ebola and has not exhibited symptoms, the lawsuit said. In addition, the city of Milford refused her father's offer to have himself and his daughter tested for Ebola.

State of Maine, nurse at odds over Ebola quarantine

'Severe emotional distress' alleged

On October 20, the World Health Organization declared that Nigeria, which is several hundred miles from the epicenter of the outbreak, had contained Ebola after 19 cases, including seven deaths. The declaration came after 42 days with no new Ebola cases reported.

The WHO credited an aggressive response by Nigeria's government and effective contact tracing.

The lawsuit said a local health official told Ikeoluwa's father that the decision to "quarantine" his daughter at home was "due to the rumors, panic and climate at Meadowside Elementary School."

Ikeoluwa "suffered severe emotional distress" from the decision, the lawsuit claims.

The girl traveled to Nigeria with her father from October 2 to October 13 to participate in a family wedding. When she returned to the United States, school officials ordered that she remain home for 21 days, until November 3, according to the lawsuit.

The suit was filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

New York incident

Fears about Ebola affected a group of boys at a school in New York on Friday.

A group of students attacked two of their peers at I.S. 318 in the Bronx while yelling "Ebola" at the brothers, who had recently returned from Senegal, the boys' father told "CNN Newsroom" on Tuesday.

The New York Department of Education confirms that the incident occurred, saying the boys were pushed and shoved.

Ousmane Drame, the boys' father, said his sons felt so upset by their experience, they want to go back to Africa.

"They were made fun of by the children (who) started yelling, 'Ebola. Ebola. Ebola. Africa. Africa,' " Drame said his sons told him.

Charles Cooper of the African Advisory Council, a local advocacy group, said that at lunch, one of the boys was jumped by the students who had been calling him "Ebola." When his older brother intervened, the brother also was assaulted.

Drame said classmates refused to play with his sons in gym.

"We're done playing with you. You have Ebola," he said one of the bullies told his sons. "You sit down. ... They don't want to play with them. Nobody is close to them."

Last week, amid heightened concerns about the spread of the virus, New Jersey and New York started requiring anyone who had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa to be quarantined for 21 days.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said there is little risk of contracting Ebola, outside of close contact with a person who has it and is symptomatic.

Complete coverage on Ebola

CNN's Sho Wills contributed to this report.
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Lawsuit: School banned girl over Ebola

You're an idiot. They screen for that at the airport.
A student may fail the school year, but seriously, no child gets left behind.

And the stupid just keeps on coming

People with ebola are not contagious until they start vomiting and having diarrhea.

If people are isolated when they have a fever, that's plenty of margin of safety.

Remember when Ryan White, a hymophliac who got AIDS from a blood transfusion wasn't allowed to go to school.

That was evil and hurtful then.

Banning kids from Liberia, Ginea and Sierra Leone would be just as stupid, cruel, unjust and evil as what was done to Ryan Wite

Not Rush Dipshit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And the stupid just keeps on coming
>
> People with ebola are not contagious until they
> start vomiting and having diarrhea.
>
> If people are isolated when they have a fever,
> that's plenty of margin of safety.
>
> Remember when Ryan White, a hymophliac who got
> AIDS from a blood transfusion wasn't allowed to go
> to school.
>
> That was evil and hurtful then.
>
> Banning kids from Liberia, Ginea and Sierra Leone
> would be just as stupid, cruel, unjust and evil as
> what was done to Ryan Wite


They wouldn't have to be from western Africa. Any student/staff visiting there could contract the Ebola and contagious everybody else.

Fox News Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They wouldn't have to be from western Africa. Any student/staff visiting there could contract the Ebola and contagious everybody else.<

No

You have to have contact with the feces or blood of an infected person to contract ebola.

Visiting the same country won't be enough.

Not Rush Dipshit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fox News Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > They wouldn't have to be from western Africa.
> Any student/staff visiting there could contract
> the Ebola and contagious everybody else.<
>
> No
>
> You have to have contact with the feces or blood
> of an infected person to contract ebola.
>
> Visiting the same country won't be enough.


That's actually a fallacy that the public media wants you to believe. The truth is, if you come within ten feet of the Ebola you will catch it and be contagious for 21 days.

Fox News Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> . . . if you come within ten feet of the Ebola you will catch it and be contagious for 21 days.<

Monumentally false

Thanks for trolling

You have to have contact with the feces or blood of an infected person to contract ebola.

Visiting the same country won't be enough.

If you are sneezed or coughed on by an ebola patient won't that be "contact" with bodily fluids? The CDC revised its website recently to more vaguely classify "bodily fluid", and we all know how great snot nosed kids are with hygiene.

Is this a real situation or just a hypo?

Either way BAN the child from FCPS and the US. I wonder how many prior posts have a medical degrees in infectious diseases? Who's ignorant? Maybe you!

Why even expose the children to a chance of infection? Especially in a school setting, which has potential to infects hundreds by one.

keepin it real Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is this a real situation or just a hypo?

Both, a hypothetically real situation.

> Either way BAN the child from FCPS and the US. I
> wonder how many prior posts have a medical degrees
> in infectious diseases? Who's ignorant? Maybe
> you!

Are you saying you have a degree?


> Why even expose the children to a chance of
> infection? Especially in a school setting, which
> has potential to infects hundreds by one.


The constitution clearly states that you cannot limit the constitutional rights of one human just to protect the wellbeing of all humans (Falwell v Flynt).

Except when there is danger to public health. DOH!

HELL NO THEY WOULDN'T BAN THEM!!!! LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE WE ARE LETTING IN THE SCHOOLS ALREADY!

YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE A CITIZEN!

I like pie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You have to have contact with the feces or blood
> of an infected person to contract ebola.
>
> Visiting the same country won't be enough.
>
> If you are sneezed or coughed on by an ebola
> patient won't that be "contact" with bodily
> fluids? The CDC revised its website recently to
> more vaguely classify "bodily fluid", and we all
> know how great snot nosed kids are with hygiene.

Sneezing and coughing are not enough contact to transmit. As Dr. Fauchi, head of infectious disease has said repeatedly.

The example is the man who died in Houston. His family there had contact with him even after he had a fever and none of them, none, got infected.

The two nurses who got sick were treating him after his disease got to an advanced stage.

The fear mongering is just plain evil.

Not fear mongering, just being CAUTIOUS.

Query: The two nurses that became infected with patient zero, do you suppose they were licking his fluids off the floor? Or were they trying to be cautious because they KNEW that patient zero was infected, but still got infected.

Query2: Do you suppose an infected individual will have the wherewithal to self quarantine oneself? How about children? Afterall, this is about FCPS.

Query3: Do you know what exponential spread is?

It appears that if you get it EARLY there is recovery, but late - you're dead. Think about it.

keepin it real Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Except when there is danger to public health.
> DOH!


Would guns count?

No, they will not. FCPS and the school board thrive on bringing in more illegals and third worlders with exotic diseases. If anything they'd welcome an ebola kid with open arms. Maybe even throw a parade for him, or at least let him march in the Vienna parade.

keepin it real Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Query: The two nurses that became infected with patient zero, do you suppose they were licking his fluids off the floor? Or were they trying to be cautious because they KNEW that patient zero was infected, but still got infected.<

No fecal matter or blood got on their skin because they were not using full body covering protection

> Query2: Do you suppose an infected individual will have the wherewithal to self quarantine oneself? How about children? Afterall, this is about FCPS.<

Yes

> Query3: Do you know what exponential spread is?

Yes, but it requires the patient to be contagious which takes a very sick patient in the case of ebola.

> It appears that if you get it EARLY there is recovery, but late - you're dead. Think about it.<

Not true. Mortality is about 50% and appears to be based on the state of the victim's immune system.