EBOLA HYSTERIA

U.S. Airlifts Lab Worker's Blood Sample

From Carnival Cruise ship.

U.S. Coast Guards met a Carnival cruise ship on Saturday to collect a blood sample from a lab worker who handled a specimen from the first U.S. Ebola patient. A helicopter lowered a basket with supplies, so that the woman could provide a blood sample for health officials. Her tests came back negative for Ebola. Although she handled a specimen from Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from Ebola earlier this month, she showed no signs of symptoms and voluntarily self-quarantined. She “is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew," Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement. Federal officials also confirmed that she did not pose a health risk. However, on Friday, the ship was not allowed to dock in Cozumel, and on Thursday, the lab worker was not allowed to depart form the ship in Belize. The cruise returned to Galveston, Texas early Sunday morning as originally scheduled. On Saturday, a Dallas Area Rapid Transit station shutdown after a woman set off Ebola fears by spitting on the platform.