Dallas County

Two Health Workers From Dallas County Monitored for Ebola

Two health care workers are being monitored in Dallas County for any symptoms of the Ebola virus after recently traveling from Sierra Leone in West Africa, according to Dallas County Health and Human Services.

The workers, neither of whom is displaying symptoms of the disease, have not been identified.

They worked in Sierra Leone to combat Ebola with the group Doctors Without Borders.

They have been instructed to remain off public transportation and avoid large gatherings of people for 21 days, the department said Tuesday.

They also will not be allowed to care for any patients during their 21-day monitoring period, slated to end Dec. 1.

A spokesman for Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday, “We inform the state public health authorities regarding any aid workers returning from the Ebola-affected countries. We also inform our aid workers of the specific state regulations and requirements that they follow upon return."

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told NBC 5 the health care workers are not under quarantine but just asked to stay off public transportation and away from big group settings like football games.

“If they got sick at the game, or the next day the symptoms were seen for the first time, it would be difficult to go back and do disease detective work on the 95,000 people at the football game,” said Jenkins.

There are currently no active cases of Ebola in the United States after Dr. Craig Spencer was declared Ebola-free and released from a New York City hospital Tuesday.

Previously, Dallas nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson were successfully treated for Ebola after contracting the virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

Duncan, a Liberian man who was the first person to have Ebola in the United States, died Oct. 8.

NBC 5's Ray Villeda contributed to this report.

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