Yale School of Public Health officials have deemed it unnecessary for doctoral students who returned from Liberia to stay home from work, stating they don't anticipate any risk to others despite rising Ebola concerns nationally.
The students were helping the Liberian Ministry of Health on work with "computer disease tracking systems," Dean Paul Cleary wrote in a letter to the Yale community earlier this week. They originally volunteered to sequester themselves for 21 days as a precaution "because many do not understand how Ebola is spread and some may be anxious about contact with anyone from West Africa," he wrote.
"However, after carefully considering the matter, a University-wide team of physicians, epidemiologists, and senior administrators concluded that a 21-day sequestration was unnecessary," Cleary wrote. "The students will be in close contact with medical personnel and follow CDC recommendations for all travelers returning from affected areas, which includes self-monitoring for signs and symptoms of Ebola for 21 days. This protocol was affirmed in consultations with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
School officials don't believe the students will pose a risk to their peers and others because they knew the students weren't going to "be in contact with Ebola infected patients or health care providers" and their "risk of contracting Ebola was very low," Cleary said.
The students, will instead take time off to "to rest and recover from what has been a stressful – but successful – research and aid mission," Cleary wrote.
