In a segment that aired on “CNN Newsroom” on Thursday, network correspondent Gary Tuchman surveyed members of a north Dallas community near where Eric Duncan, the first diagnosed U.S. Ebola patient, was prior to that diagnosis.
In the report, Tuchman visited Dallas’ Sam Tasby Middle School, one of the four schools of the five children of Duncan’s girlfriend, who he was visiting at the time and polled students of their concerns with coming in contact of the Ebola virus.
However, in one interaction Tuchman offered his own assurances to those schoolchildren they had no reason to worry.
Partial transcript as follows:
TUCHMAN: And it says, “This morning we are made aware a student in your school may have had contact with an individual who was recently diagnosed with the Ebola virus.” Now, does that worry you? Were you scared?
FIRST SCHOOLCHILD: Yes, and i don’t feel like going to school tomorrow.
TUCHMAN: Well, I want to tell you and you mother you don’t need to be scared because the person in your school doesn’t have Ebola, they were just near someone who had it. So you don’t have to worry, OK?
FIRST SCHOOLCHILD: OK.
TUCHMAN: Daisy and Betsy are fourth graders who are twins. When you heard of the Ebola stuff, what did you think?
DAISY AND BETSY: We got scared.
TUCHMAN: You’re twins and you talk at the same time. But are you OK now?
DAISY AND BETSY: Yes.
TUCHMAN: They’re taking good care. The students here didn’t have Ebola. You know that, right?
DAISY AND BETSY: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Are you going back to school tomorrow?
DAISY AND BETSY: Yes.
Tuchman’s medical expertise on Ebola isn’t clear. According to his bio at CNN.com, Tuchman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University and worked at a number of local television affiliates as an anchor and a reporter before hitting the scene with CNN.
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