Amber Vinson, the second nurse from Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas to contract the Ebola virus, has reportedly been getting negative comments about her recent trip to Ohio. Vinson flew from Dallas to Cleveland on October 10 to plan her wedding and flew back to Texas on October 13. Although she was not showing symptoms for Ebola at the time of her trip, about 153 people in Ohio are being monitored by officials because they came into contact with her, and the state seems to have been put on edge.
An Ohio store called Coming Attractions Bridal Shop was reportedly visited by Vinson during her trip, and its owners are now feeling the effects of the stigma brought by the Ebola virus. Donald and Anna Younker had their shop treated by ultraviolet ray machines on Sunday, October 19, in order to convince customers that their shop was safe. “I’m hoping that this will ease everybody’s mind that if there’s anything floating in my store that it’s gonna be gone,” said Anna. She has also been placed under monitoring for three weeks by the Health Department for coming into contact with Vinson as she waited on her at the shop.
Here are the plane routes flown by the aircraft #AmberVinson was on since her flight from #Dallas. #Ebola #KellyFile pic.twitter.com/34tdSvNc3c
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 17, 2014
Shop owners confirm #Ebola patient #AmberVinson visited Coming Attractions, a bridal shop in Akron, this weekend. pic.twitter.com/AdhkN5mjVX — Sara Shookman (@SaraShookman) October 16, 2014
Meanwhile, Vinson’s family issued a statement on Sunday in reaction to the negative comments Vinson was receiving about her travel while infected with Ebola. “To be clear, in no way was Amber careless prior to or after her exposure to Mr. Thomas Eric Duncan. She has not and would not knowingly expose herself or anyone else,” said the statement.
“She is doing OK, just trying to get stronger.” – Mother of Ebola-stricken nurse Amber Vinson: http://t.co/CdHAj4Tx6f pic.twitter.com/48ZSgfvJom
— World News Tonight (@WNTonight) October 21, 2014
Vinson’s family claims that the nurse did not feel symptoms when she traveled to Ohio and had been in contact with Center for Disease Control and Protection officials before she flew back to Dallas. The statement then went on to clarify that Vinson complied with health officials’ request that she monitor her fever once she reported it, and that she had been cleared by them to travel back to Dallas in order to be treated at Texas Presbyterian Hospital, where she worked.