In the event that an emergency is called into Jonesboro’s 911 dispatch center, questions related to Ebola will be asked. Jeff Presley is E911 Director with the City of Jonesboro and explains why this will take place.
“The Centers for Disease Control has issued new compliance regulations,” said Presley. “At this point, it is only a recommendation, and a proactive approach to public safety. The City of Jonesboro has updated our protocol to ask a few more questions. We never know if the person that is calling has traveled to another country, so if they have high fever, muscle weakness, we will ask travel questions and things like that.”
Presley says while this is not required, he says the additional questions can better prepare responders during emergency calls.
“At this point, it is a recommendation for an update to our protocol for the public safety answering center. This information will be passed along to the first responders, EMTs and to the hospital if a patient is transferred to a medical facility.”
NPR news reports the United States has seen six cases of the Ebola virus in recent weeks affecting five Americans and a Liberian. The Liberian, Thomas Eric Duncan, died in Dallas yesterday. All of the Americans contracted the disease while in West Africa, raising concerns about wider spread of the disease, which has killed more than 3,800 people and infected more than 8,000 in the current outbreak centered in West Africa. Five airports in the United States will institute new Ebola screening procedures. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the procedures include passengers being checked for fever to make sure they are not exhibiting signs of Ebola. Those airports are JFK in New York, New Jersey's Newark, Chicago's O'Hare airport, Washington Dulles and Atlanta's Hartsfield airport. There are no reports of Ebola in Arkansas at this time.
