Jefferson City police are investigating a false claim made by an individual who said that an ill person in their household had recently traveled to West Africa and had Ebola-like symptoms. As a result, Cole County and Jefferson City health officials activated their incident plan. The false claim was made to St. Mary’s Hospital.
The Jefferson City Police Department says it has a suspect and may follow up with legal action.
In a follow-up press conference, Cole County Public Health Director Kristi Campbell says the false report had a positive result.
The health department issued this public statement.
Officials assured: “This incident gave responders…an opportunity to exercise our incident plan and prepare for a response. All aspects of a potential response were discussed; from transporting an ill person and care of the patient, contact tracing and decontamination of the affected household and vehicle. We will take what we learned today and continue to improve our plan and enhance our response.”
AUDIO: Listen to Q and A at Thursday’s press conference (8:52)
