U.S. to step up Ebola screening at 5 major airports

Oct 10 2014

Passengers arriving from West Africa will have their temperatures taken at the airports. Meanwhile, questions are emerging about the care given to Thomas Eric Duncan, the Texas Ebola patient who died Wednesday, including why he was initially released from the hospital. 

The New York Times: U.S. To Begin Ebola Screenings At 5 Airports
Federal officials said Wednesday that they would begin temperature screenings of passengers arriving from West Africa at five American airports, beginning with Kennedy International in New York as early as this weekend, as the United States races to respond to a deadly Ebola outbreak (Tavernise and Shear, 10/8).

Los Angeles Times: Family, Friends Question Medical Care Given Texas Ebola Patient
There also are questions about how Duncan was treated when he first arrived at the hospital Sept. 25, complaining of symptoms and telling personnel that he had traveled from West Africa. The travel information should have been a warning sign, officials have said. Duncan was released with antibiotics. He was rushed back to the hospital three days later with more severe symptoms. … Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, raised questions over whether Duncan was initially released from a Dallas hospital because of his race and lack of health insurance (Hennessy-Fiske, Pearce and Muskal, 10/8).

The Washington Post: First Ebola Patient In U.S. Dies As Officials Announce New Airport Screening Measures
The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States died early Wednesday, as the government announced plans to step up screening of travelers at five of the nation's busiest airports in an effort to prevent more cases of the deadly virus from reaching the country. Thomas Eric Duncan, who traveled from Liberia late last month and had been fighting for his life in a Dallas hospital, died at 7:51 a.m., according to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas (Berman, Dennis and Sun, 10/8).