Thursday 16 October 2014

**BREAKING** - State of Emergency in Texas

Dallas Commissioners Will Declare State Of Disaster Tomorrow Over Ebola



15 October, 2014


While the message from the President is 'keep calm and avoid bodily fluids', it appears the commissioners in Dallas are slightly more concerned at the potential for Ebola to escalate:
  • *DALLAS COMMISSIONERS TO DECLARE LOCAL STATE OF DISASTER TOMORROW: NBC-TV

  • *DALLAS COUNTY CONSIDERS DECLARING STATE OF DISASTER FROM EBOLA

  • *DALLAS DISASTER DECLARATION WOULD ACTIVATE EMERGENCY PLAN
While we are not sure where a "state of disaster" ranks relative to a "public health emergency" such as the one in Connecticut, we are certain of one thing - it will mean civil liberties will be reduced as government takes control.

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Welcome to the new normal American police state.




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And then there's this... (as NBC Dallas reports)







Officials with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are apologizing for misdiagnosing the country's first Ebola patient.
In testimony that will be submitted to the House of Representives on Thursday, Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, admitted to mistakes that were made during Thomas Eric Duncan's care when he first arrived at the hospital's emergency room.
"As the first hospital in the country to both diagnose and treat a patient with Ebola, we are committed to using our experience to help other hospitals and healthcare providers protect public health against this insidious virus, Varga said in the prepared testimony.
"It’s hard for me to put into words how we felt when our patient Thomas Eric Duncan lost his struggle with Ebola on October 8. It was devastating to the nurses, doctors, and team who tried so hard to save his life," Varga said in the statement. "We keep his family in our thoughts and prayers. Unfortunately, in our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes. We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola. We are deeply sorry."

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Perhaps even more concerning is that the CDC appears to have given the second nurse infected with Ebola permission to fly (despite her reporting she had an elevated temperature), as CBS reports:







CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. John LaPook reports that Vinson called the CDC several times before boarding the plane concerned about her fever.
This nurse, Nurse Vinson,  did in fact call the CDC several times before taking that flight and said she has a temperature, a fever of 99.5, and the person at the CDC looked at a chart and because her temperature wasn’t 100.4 or higher she didn’t officially fall into the category of high risk.”
Vinson first reported a fever to the hospital on Tuesday (Oct. 14) and was isolated within 90 minutes, according to officials. She did not exhibit symptoms while on the Monday flight, according to crew members. However, the CDC says passenger notification is needed as an “extra level of safety” due to the proximity in time between the flight and the first reported symptoms.
Those who have exposures to Ebola, she should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” said Dr. Frieden. “The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for controlled movement. That can include a charter plane; that can include a car; but it does not include public transport. We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement.”

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Do these people really know what they are dealing with?



Disaster Declaration Planned for Ebola Fight
Those who cared for Thomas Duncan ordered to restrict travel methods


15 October, 2014

Dallas County Commissioners will hold a special meeting Thursday to declare a disaster over "the potential for widespread or severe damage, injury, loss or threat of life resulting from the Ebola virus."

The declaration could help officials impose new travel restrictions on health care workers who may have cared for the first Dallas Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Dallas County Medical Director Dr. Christopher Perkins will sign a control order that will follow the minimum guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blocking those being monitored for Ebola symptoms from using public transportation, including buses and airliners.

It comes after revelations Wednesday that the third Dallas Ebola patient, Amber Vinson, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, returned from a trip to Ohio with a slight fever after caring for Duncan, who died at the hospital last week

The CDC now wants to contact and interview all 132 passengers who flew from Cleveland to Dallas with Vinson on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 Monday evening.

Vinson's infection was only revealed Wednesday morning as crews began decontaminating her Dallas apartment.

Vinson was transferred Wednesday evening to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta where other Ebola patients have been successfully treated.

She and Ebola patient Nina Pham, another nurse at Presbyterian Hospital, contracted the disease through some breach in illness protection at the hospital, according to hospital officials and investigators with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

News of Pham's infection came Sunday, and she remains in isolation while receiving treatment at Presbyterian Hospital.
A total of 77 hospital workers may have had contact with Duncan, and CDC officials have acknowledged they could have provided more support at Presbyterian Hospital when Duncan's Ebola case was first revealed in late September.

Jenkins, who is overseeing the Ebola response in Dallas County, said neither Presbyterian Hospital nor the CDC instructed the workers to stay away from the public during the 21-day monitoring period for symptoms.

"No one told them, which is something that is profoundly disappointing to me, but this is something that we've got to fix quickly," Jenkins said. "We cannot have people on common carriers like DART trains, airplanes or buses who might get sick."

The control order would give the county legal authority to restrict the movement of those being monitored for the potentially deadly virus.
"If an order is in place I expect it to be followed and we'd use the law to enforce it, but that won't be necessary. These are heroic health care professionals who just need some guidance on what they can and can't do in a very difficult time in their life," Jenkins said.

Jenkins said he'll work with state officials to make sure the order can be enforced outside of Dallas County and that public venues may be included in the restriction.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Texas Health Commissioner Dr. David Lakey and Jenkins all met Wednesday afternoon at Jenkins' office to discuss the situation.

Cornyn said he was visiting to learn firsthand about the problems Dallas is facing and offer support.

"I don't know if we've ever had anything like this happen before," Cornyn said. "One of the points the mayor and the judge said is the CDC is a world-class expert in terms of offering advice, but what you need is somebody who can operationally make things happen. And maybe we need a public health special operations force."

Rawlings was more blunt about the current life-and-death situation.

"Hey, look everybody, it's one team. And this team is not doing as well. The county, me as mayor, the Presbyterian, the CDC, the state, come on. We've got to do better than that," Rawlings said

The special county commissioners meeting is set for 2 p.m. Thursday.




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