COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Statehouse panel approved a funding request to help pay for more protective gear for health care workers if the state has a suspected or confirmed case of Ebola.
The Ohio Department of Health requested approval from the state Controlling Board to spend $300,000 for more equipment. It also asked to spend up to $500,000 to dispose of contaminated linens and other items if a case occurs. The board passed both requests Monday.
The department says its existing equipment includes more than 105,000 gloves, 100,000 face masks, 29,000 respirators and 7,000 gowns. Hospitals have their own supplies, too.
The state is continuing to monitor residents who may have had contact with a Texas nurse diagnosed with the Ebola virus after returning home following a trip to northeastern Ohio.
The Ebola incubation period can be as long as three weeks, meaning local residents who spent time with Amber Vinson during her Ohio trip will continue to be monitored for 21 days after last contact.
For those who had contact with the nurse on her last day in the area, the incubation period runs through about Nov. 3.
The state said Monday there are now 142 people being monitored in Ohio because of contact or potential contact with Vinson.
Three people have been quarantined in northeastern Ohio.