Steps to Quarantine Ebola Virus Patients

Whenever someone who’s even suspected of having the Ebola virus much less showing symptoms shows up at the hospital, the staff there immediately takes steps to put that person into quarantine.

Avoiding general public

Once the person is put into quarantine, strict precautions are taken and that person is not allowed to mix with the general public for the safety of others. The medical staff doesn’t want that person causing another swell of infections to begin.

That’s why it’s important that you have a quarantine plan already in place so that you’ll know which steps to follow to protect yourself. When you’re at home and you have a family member or loved ones show up – even if you only suspect they may have had a small chance of coming into contact with the virus – you can’t take any chances.

Just because they’re not already looking or acting sick with it doesn’t mean they’re clear. You can’t let them have access to your home. That means that you have to quarantine them.

And while this might be a difficult move on your part, you have to do what you have to do to not only keep yourself and your family safe, but to keep the virus from continuing to spread.

But since you don’t want (and it’s not safe for) the quarantine area to be inside your home, the best way to quarantine someone is by letting them stay isolated in a tent outdoors.

Using the right tents

The type of tent that you’ll want to have onhand depends on whether or not it’s in the winter or summer. The thinner material tents are fine for the summer, but you’ll want to make sure that you get one that’s completely enclosed.

Some of the summer tents have mesh walls on the upper parts of the material. While this does help keep whoever is inside cooler, it’s also easier for the Ebola virus to transfer from person to person. If the person inside the tent is actually sick with the virus, all he or she has to do is to sneeze and the droplets travel right through that mesh part of the wall and are now outside of the tent.

Someone comes along without protective gear to check on the person in isolation. They breathe in those sneezed droplets – which can also survive on surfaces for long periods of time – and then you have two people potentially infected with the virus instead of one.

Domed tents

Look for the domed tents or a tent that has some height to them so that the person inside won’t feel so claustrophobic if that’s an issue. Also, some of these tents are made so that inside of them, there are divided areas.

These are like rooms and can be cordoned off. That means you can house multiple people who may be infected with the virus and yet keep them quarantined from one another to keep it from being passed from one patient to the next.

Some of the tents that you can get are cabin style tents. These tents not only have windows that can be closed, but doors as well. They also come with cord pockets that allow you to run a power cord into the tent without exposing yourself or the person inside to any contact.

Whatever kind of tent that you get, this quarantine tent needs to be away from your home, but close enough so that if they need help, you’ll know about it.  Some people set up this quarantine tent in a backyard.

That way, you can be within walkie-talkie range. Since it takes 21 days for the Ebola virus incubation period to be up, the person should be kept separate from you and others for that length of time.

Isolation means isolation

You shouldn’t visit the person or allow others to come and go in visitation with the person, either. It will be difficult for both you and the person being isolated – especially when you love them – but it’s best for all involved.

Don’t enter the isolation tent. Communicate through electronics and if you need to get a visual on the person, just make sure that you use a tent that has one of the kinds of plastic windows that you can see through.

If you’re able to use electricity inside the tent, then you also might opt for a video baby monitor to help you see what’s happening inside the tent. This could come in handy if someone is suffering from the Ebola virus and the quarantine saves your life.

Kids may not understand incubation and quarantines as well as adults. Just try to have something to entertain the person (books, games, etc.) so keep boredom at bay and stress the importance of this life-saving period of distance to everyone who has to go through it.