And she apparently did so with the
CDC's explicit permission.
according to Flighttracker, the plane was used for five additional flights on Tuesday before it was removed from service. Those flights include a return flight to Cleveland, Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL), FLL to Cleveland, Cleveland to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), and ATL to Cleveland.
While in Ohio, Vinson visited relatives, who are employees at Kent State University. The university is now asking Vinson’s three relatives stay off campus and self-monitor per CDC protocol for the next 21 days out of an “abundance of caution.”
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/10/15/ebola-patient-traveled-day-before-diagnosisQuoting from Arstechnica article:
Update: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now say that the second infected healthcare worker flew to Cleveland and back on a commercial jet after caring for Duncan—and her return flight to Dallas took place the day before her Ebola symptoms appeared. The CDC now wants to interview everyone on that return flight (Frontier Airlines flight 1143, flying from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on October 13).
Given the healthcare worker's recent exposure to Duncan, she was "self-monitoring" for any symptoms of Ebola and—according to the CDC—
should not have traveled on a commercial airline until the incubation period for the disease had ended.
Update 2: Reuters reports that the healthcare worker did in fact have a slight fever while traveling on the airplane back to Dallas. The CDC still believes the risk of viral transmission is low because the woman was neither vomiting nor bleeding on the flight. The healthcare worker is being transported to Emory Hospital in Atlanta for treatment.
There may be more than one person at the CDC with different opinions.
"CDC spokesman David Daigle says Amber Joy Vinson spoke with the CDC official responsible for monitoring her health before she boarded the flight Monday.
Daigle says the 29-year-old Vinson reported her temperature was below 100.4 degrees and she had no symptoms. Ebola sufferers aren’t contagious until they show symptoms.
The official said she could board Frontier Airlines Flight 1143."
Interestingly both can be true. She may have received permission, having no severe symptoms.
She may also have developed symptoms during transit, and CDC would then say that she should not have flown (even though they told her that she could.)
We also know that one can be contagious without symptoms. If the virus is replicating in your blood vessels, and you are cut or menstruating or whatever, there is potential for transmission.
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