Texas health officials have ordered four family members who had contact with the Dallas Ebola patient to stay home and not have visitors to prevent the potential spread of disease. The order, hand delivered to Thomas Eric Duncan’s relatives Wednesday night by Texas Department of Health Services officials, legally requires the family to comply until at least Oct. 19, when the incubation period has passed and the family is no longer at risk of having the disease. The order also requires the family to be available to provide blood samples and agree to any testing required by public health officials.
Ebola is not contagious until symptoms appear. The family members do not have symptoms at this time. Duncan, 42, is the first person to be diagnosed with the killer disease in the United States. He traveled last month from his native Liberia and developed symptoms last week. He initially was sent home from a Dallas hospital and remained at home for two days while showing symptoms.
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