Nurse in Ebola scare to leave isolation
A Cairns nurse who sparked an Ebola scare when she developed a fever after returning from west Africa is set to return to normal life after three weeks in isolation.
Australian Red Cross aid worker Sue Ellen Kovack was admitted to a Cairns hospital earlier this month after coming down with a low-grade fever soon after returning from treating victims in Sierra Leone.
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The 57-year-old twice tested negative for the virus before she was released from hospital on October 13 to complete the 21-day incubation period for Ebola at home.
A spokesman from the Red Cross confirmed that the isolation period lapsed on Wednesday, although he wouldn’t provide any other details.
He said the nurse has requested not to speak to media.
Ms Kovack has pleaded for greater action to fight the disease, which has killed thousands in west Africa since the start of the year.
“The international community needs to do so much more right now to stop Ebola in its tracks, before it really gets right out of control,” she said in a statement last week.
Her pleas were made on the same day Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced no Australian health workers would be sent to Ebola-ravaged west Africa.
Two Queensland doctors have been stood down for speaking to the media about the handling of Ms Kovack’s case, actions they later admitted were unwise.
Their concerns are being investigated by an independent panel appointed by Queensland Health.