CDC to issue Ebola guidelines for healthcare workers as soon as today

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue new guidelines for healthcare workers handling Ebola patients as soon as Saturday, the agency confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.

The CDC is “wrapping up the final details” about the new guidelines, which come in the wake of the first Ebola cases in the U.S., CDC spokeswoman Melissa Brower told The Times in an email Friday night.

Two nurses from the Dallas hospital who had close contact with America’s first Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, have contracted the virus as a result of apparent lapses in preparedness for handling infected patients. Duncan died Oct. 8.

In addition to the possible CDC announcement, Ohio governor and other state officials have scheduled a news conference Saturday morning concerning Ohio’s response to the Ebola threat after the second Texas nurse traveled to the Akron area while she was apparently infected.

As of Friday, roughly 1,000 people were being watched for symptoms, asked to monitor themselves or urged to check with a counselor at the CDC. None has exhibited symptoms.

The group includes those who may have flown on a Frontier Airlines jetliner that carried Amber Vinson, the second of two nurses who contracted Ebola after caring for Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

During his weekly radio address, President Obama will speak on how the U.S. is responding to Ebola, both at home and abroad, and will seek to reassure everyone that he and his administration are committed to preventing the spread of the virus in America.

“As I’ve said before, fighting this disease will take time,” Obama said, according to a transcript. “Before this is over, we may see more isolated cases here in America. But we know how to wage this fight.”

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