Houston schools prep for Ebola possibility

Thursday, October 16, 2014
Houston schools prep for Ebola possibility
Schools are letting parents know what they're doing to make sure their kids are safe on campus

WASHINGTON -- Schools are letting parents know what they're doing to make sure their kids are safe on campus should an Ebola case affect their campuses. The virus is on the minds of many parents.

A Spring parent says, "I'm scared," while running afternoon errands and her child is at school.

Schools will be on the front line in detecting any cases that involved children.

"I work in the school district so now we have to sanitize everything, make sure our hands are clean, make sure everything is clean at all times, every day, all day," says Chasity Blackman.

Across the Houston area, districts are balancing the line between keeping parents informed but avoiding any kind of panic.

"People will let the irrational fears take control over this and again make things much worse. So it's important to keep in mind how very non-contagious the disease really is," said Doctor Luis Salinas, professor of sociology at University of Houston.

At Booker Elementary in Spring the school nurse is monitoring a student who went out of the country but not an Ebola-affected area.

Students in the district near Waco and Dallas are being monitored after flying on the plane carrying the infected nurse from Dallas or having a family member on the flight.

"Sanitize hands, wash hands properly, anytime you touch doors, anytime you go to eat or use the restroom," parent Neiko Wade said.

There have been no connections made between students in the Houston area and any diagnosed cases but parents recognize no plan can be perfect.

"It's hard. It's hard," Wade said.