Florida monitoring travelers at risk for Ebola

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida has become the fourth state to require monitoring and potential quarantine of people traveling from Ebola-infected nations.

Late Monday afternoon, the Department of Health increased the number of travelers being monitored in Florida from four to six and said information about the location of those individuals is not available.

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The executive order requires anyone who has traveled from an Ebola-impacted nation, including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, to have his or her temperature taken by state health officials twice a day. Travelers who were in contact with an infected person will be quarantined for 21 days.

The Governor's Office said there are currently six people in Florida who have traveled from Ebola-infected nations.

At the Department of Health, no one was talking about the order but a confirmation email was sent at 9:17 a.m. Monday.

A later release from the agency called the six being monitored "low risk."

The Department of Health has also delivered first responder readiness packages to DOH offices around the state. The personal protective equipment packages have been strategically positioned so additional equipment can be provided within one hour or less if first responder needs exceed existing resources.

All 210 hospitals have provided readiness reports for dealing with Ebola, and 95 hospitals have completed the healthcare professional training for Ebola.