Confirmation that a patient at a Dallas hospital is being treated for Ebola after arriving in North Texas from West Africa has alarmed the local Liberian community.
For weeks, NBC 5 has tracked the progress of a local group's efforts to raise money and supplies to help Ebola patients in their native Liberia.
On Tuesday, they learned the virus is now in Dallas.
"We have people going and coming every day, so like I said, this is shocking, because they take all the necessary precautions over there at the airport and even when they get here," said Carolyn Woahloe, head of the local Liberian Nurses Association.
According to the president of the Liberian Community Association of DFW, there are between 5,000 and 10,000 Liberians in North Texas.
Many of them travel back and forth from their home country often.
The president of the LCADFW told NBC 5 he does not personally know the Dallas Ebola patient, but the group is planning an informative meeting to let the public know of the need to seek medical help if anyone had contact with the patient.
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"Whoever came in contact with this family of ours, they just don't need to be afraid. They just need to go to the hospital, [and] say, 'Hey, I was there. I greeted him.' Just go get checked out, the family and friends and everyone else who came in contact with him," said Woahloe.
Nine Liberian churches operate in Dallas and Fort Worth, according to LCADFW.
