Health Department Updates Travel Guidance Process

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department (OCCHD) announced it is requiring anyone who has been traveling in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea to self-monitor at their home for 21 days following the last contact with the case. Health officials created this requirement because those travelers are now considered high risk contacts.

10/31/2014 Related Story: Patient In Isolation At Tulsa Hospital Tests Positive For Malaria

Health officials said high risk contacts will have two in-person monitoring sessions daily for 21 days. And during the visits with the high risk contacts, health officials said they will be assessing symptoms, ensuring patients are following the quarantine and addressing any other needs.

The OCCHD announced it will also require information twice daily from people with some or low risk. OCCHD said it needs their temperature and the presence or absence of any Ebola symptoms. Those symptoms include headache, muscle aches, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain or abnormal bleeding, according to health officials.

If any of these travelers start to show symptoms, the OCCHD said it will implement an isolation and evaluation plan and direct the patient to a local hospital that is prepared to receive potential Ebola patients.

10/31/2014 Related Story: Patient In Isolation At Tulsa Hospital Screened For Ebola