Relative who flew with Vinson doesn’t live with student

By Denise Dick

denise_dick@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

A St. Charles School student’s relative who was on the same flight as the latest person diagnosed with the Ebola virus lives in a separate residence and has no symptoms, according to the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, Office of Catholic Schools.

The school learned Thursday that the relative was on the same Oct. 10 Dallas-to-Cleveland Frontier flight as Amber Vinson, the nurse who tested positive this week for the virus. Vinson had treated Thomas Eric Duncan, a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where he died.

The school opened as usual Friday.

Mary Fiala, diocese assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the diocese and the school consulted with both the Ohio Department of Health and the Mahoning County District Board of Health.

“They told us there was no need to exclude students from our school at this point or to close the school,” she said.

There were some absences Friday although it’s difficult to know which of those were due to parents’ keeping their children home out of Ebola fears and which are due to other illnesses, Fiala said. Mahoning County public schools weren’t in session Friday because of teacher training, which also may have contributed to absences.

The St. Charles principal sent information to parents Thursday notifying them about the family member being on the flight, the assistant superintendent said. The school and diocese have fielded many calls from fearful parents.

“This is a scary disease and people are fearful,” Fiala said. “We really understand that. We’ve done our due diligence, working with authorities and following their advice. We’re following the directions of the health department, and they’ve assured us that this is the right course of action for this time.”

Out of an abundance of caution, state and local health officials are following up with people who have come into either direct or indirect contact with Vinson, according to the Thursday information sent to St. Charles parents, attributed to Patricia Sweeney, Mahoning County health commissioner. Ebola is spread through the bodily fluids of an infected person who is demonstrating symptoms. The statement stresses that the virus cannot be spread by merely coming into contact with someone who may have been in contact with the nurse but is not ill. “We have no reason to believe our kids are in danger,” Fiala said.

The diocese has been consulting and will continue to consult with health officials, she said.