NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana State University says an employee who trained Liberian police officers to use protective clothing has been asked to stay off campus for three weeks – the period during which Ebola virus symptoms could show up.
The man is not at risk for the virus because he did not have contact with any infected people, but the Department of Health and Hospitals is calling him twice a day for random temperature checks, department spokeswoman Olivia Watkins said.
He’s not quarantined.
“Since he is asymptomatic and is not running a fever, he is not being forced to stay in his home,” she said.
The man knows the virus’s signs and symptoms and knows to call 911 if any develop, rather than going to his regular doctor or an emergency room, Watkins said.
Nobody in Louisiana has been diagnosed with Ebola.
The man was among five workers who returned Tuesday from classroom sessions to train 1,275 Liberian National Police officers under a U.S. State Department contract, said Jim Fernandez, executive director of LSU’s Stevenson National Center for Security Research and Training.