Frontier Airlines: Ebola Patient Likely Symptomatic Earlier; Flight Crew on Paid Leave

Update: The Denver Channel reported Frontier issued a statement saying Vinson may have been symptomatic on the flight.

The hits just keep coming. No wonder President Obama canceled Thursday’s travel in addition to canceling Wednesday’s trip to deal with the widening Ebola outbreak.

San Diego’s XETV-TV reports Frontier Airlines is saying that Amber Vinson “may have been symptomatic earlier than initially suspected”

Also, the station reported Frontier was placing the six member crew for Vinson’s Flight 1143 on paid leave for the 21 day incubation period for Ebola.

Vinson is one of two Dallas nurses to come down with Ebola this week after treating Thomas Duncan, the Liberian national who traveled to Dallas and died from Ebola.

Earlier it was reported the CDC cleared Vinson for travel even though she told them she had a fever of 99.5 and had treated Duncan.

Thursday night the plane that carried Vinson was taken out of service.

Statement by Frontier CEO David Siegel via the Denver Channell:

“At 1:55 p.m. MDT (Wednesday) Frontier was notified by the CDC that the passenger may have been symptomatic earlier than initially suspected; including the possibility of possessing symptoms while onboard the flight.

“In light of the new information, Frontier determines that the aircraft will remain out of service and ferries it back to Denver from Cleveland without customers. The flight departs at 6:20 p.m. EDT and arrives in Denver at 7:20 p.m. MDT. In an abundance of caution, it is determined that the aircraft will receive a fourth cleaning since the infected customer was onboard. Though not required, this cleaning will consist of the removal of seat covers and carpets in the immediate vicinity of the passenger seat. The airline will also change the environmental filters onboard.

“NOTE: These extraordinary actions went beyond CDC recommendations. These steps were taken out of concern for the safety of our customers and employees. Steps such as removing the aircraft from service, removing aircraft seat covers and carpet and replacing environmental filters as well as placing the crew on paid leave were not requested nor mandated by the CDC. Frontier expects that the aircraft will return to service in a few days.”

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Kristinn Taylor has contributed to The Gateway Pundit for over ten years. Mr. Taylor previously wrote for Breitbart, worked for Judicial Watch and was co-leader of the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com. He studied journalism in high school, visited the Newseum and once met David Brinkley.

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