Thread: CA. Ebola scare closes Southwestern College bldg

Ebola scare closes Southwestern College bldg

By Karen Kucher
10:27 A.M.OCT. 16, 2014 Updated10:53 A.M.

Southwestern College has cordoned off a classroom building at its Chula Vista campus and alerted health officials after a student reported that a family member was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms.

The step was taken out of concern about the Ebola cases reported in the U.S. this week.

College spokeswoman Lillian Leopold said she didn’t know if there were any students meeting in the classrooms in the 470 building when the college decided to cordon it off.

Leopold said the action was taken after a student reported to a faculty member “that her family member had been hospitalized with flu like symptoms.”

She said she would release more information later Thursday morning.

“This student was not anywhere near West Africa. She recently traveled, but within the United States,” Leopold said.

Leopold said the county Health Department had been notified as a precaution and health officials were on their way to assess the situation.

NBC 7 reported that students at the college were evacuated from classrooms. They posted photos from social media that showed a large number of students standing outside buildings.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...tudent-closed/

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Watch: Officials at Southwestern College in Chula Vista said there was no threat or indication that a student had Ebola after a portion of the school was cordoned off Thursday.


By TONY PERRY, JOSEPH SERNA, VERONICA ROCHA contact the reporters


Student's flu-related comments prompt evacuation, Ebola rumors at college, but officials say scene is clear
'There is no Ebola here,' Southwestern College spokeswoman says after evacuation fuels rumors


The student whose flu-related comments led to a classroom building at Southwestern College in Chula Vista being evacuated Thursday does not have Ebola, a college spokeswoman said.

The student has a sister in the hospital with flu-like symptoms. The sister was not near any Ebola patient or on any airline flight that such a patient may have taken, said college spokeswoman Lillian Leopold.

“There is no Ebola here,” Leopold said.

Students stand outside secured area after being evacuated at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Concern about a possible Ebola connection spread through rumor and social media faster than officials could confirm whether the student or a family member had been exposed to the deadly virus, Leopold said.

Within minutes, local media were reporting a possible Ebola connection.

Southwestern College said in a statement that it had evacuated and cordoned off Building 470 as a precaution. Emergency personnel from the city of Chula Vista were at the scene, but San Diego County public health officials did not send a team.

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Photos on social media showed scores of students milling around outside classrooms on the campus as officials sealed off the building.

The rest of the college, meanwhile, remained open.
The student, who was not identified, was taken off campus for examination as a precaution, officials said.

Southwestern College police Chief Michael Cash said the college used established protocols for handling health incidents and that several other students were being interviewed.

The student in question, he added, "is OK at this time."

“I’m asking you to help us with communication: Southwestern College is OK,” Cash said.


Students chat outside secured area after being evacuated at Southwestern College in Chula Vista on Thursday. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

With the Ebola crisis dominating recent news cycles, many false alarms regarding the virus have been recorded in Southern California, some of them blamed on hoaxes.

Some Southwestern students and their relatives took to social media to express their concern.

On the college’s Facebook page, Christina Myers wrote, “There def needs to be more information because my husband is there right now.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...016-story.html

http://www.alipac.us/f19/sdsu-studen...xposed-312960/