A second Dallas man has been rushed to the local hospital after exhibiting signs of contracting the deadly Ebola virus that’s currently ravaging three West African nations, the media is reporting.
The patient was identified as Sgt. Michael Monnig, a deputy who accompanied county health officials Zachary Thompson and Christopher Perkins into the apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan stayed in Dallas, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The deputy was ordered to go inside the unit with officials to get a quarantine order signed. No one who went inside the unit that day wore protective gear.
“Right now, there are more questions than answers about this case,” said Wendell Watson, a spokesman with the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
According to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Association, Monnig said he was feeling sick to his stomach before his visit to the clinic.
“The patient claims to have had contact with the Dallas ‘patient zero,’” according to a statement from Dana Baird-Hanks, a spokeswoman with the city of Frisco.
Health officials said the transportation of the patient was done out of an abundance of caution.
“We are being very cautious and are in contact with the health department to ensure we follow proper protocol,” said Vicki Johns, with CareNow. “Our concern is for the safety and well being of everyone in our clinic.”
Within minutes, police and fire units surrounded the facility, taped off a gray SUV, and isolated other patients at the facility.
Officials say it may be another 48 hours before they can definitively say whether the sheriff’s deputy has the Ebola virus or not.