UPDATE #2: Arlington and Fairfax public health officials issued a statement saying that “medical authorities are confident that she does not have Ebola,” and describing the woman’s travel history as “uncertain.” The statement says:
“Based on the public health investigation, which included the travel history of a woman who became ill this morning in a Pentagon parking lot, and on questioning of her by medical staff, medical authorities are confident that she does not have Ebola.
Arlington County Fire Department Emergency Medical Services transported the woman to Fairfax Inova Hospital Friday morning, after she became ill in a Pentagon parking lot. The woman had displayed symptoms consistent with the virus and her travel history was uncertain. She was put in isolation at Fairfax Inova Hospital. Arlington County took all necessary precautions to protect public health during this event, including activating its Emergency Operations Center. We are beginning to break down those operations now.”
Fox News Channel anchor Greta Van Susteren says that one of her colleagues told her that the woman made her travel to West Africa up.
UPDATE: The Associated Press and CNN Senior Political Correspondent Brianna Keilar are reporting that the woman’s employer told them that she has NOT traveled to Africa.
WUSA in Washington DC reported that a woman who claimed she had recently been to West Africa vomited in a bus inside the Pentagon parking lot on Friday.
According to WUSA, the woman vomited in the parking lot around 9:10 a.m. in the Pentagon’s parking lot. Officials in Arlington said that “the individual allegedly indicated that she had recently visited western Africa. Out of an abundance of caution, all pedestrian and vehicular traffic was suspended around the South Parking lot, while Arlington County responded to the scene.” The woman was taken to the Virginia Hospital Center, but did not exit the ambulance and was then taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital.
The station additionally reported that health officials in Inova and Fairfax counties “are now consulting with the patient to see if she meets the criteria to be tested for Ebola.” The other individuals on the bus have been allowed to leave and self-monitor.
The bus the woman was on is being held at 7th St. and I St. SE.
Officials added that “pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the Pentagon South Parking lot’s lanes 7-23 will remain restricted until further notice. The Corridor 2 entrance to the Pentagon is also closed,” and that HAZMAT teams from Fairfax County are aiding in the decontamination of the ambulance workers who transported the patient to Inova Fairfax Hospital.
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