A report, claiming that a Texas city is being put under quarantine after five of a family showed signs of Ebola, is a hoax.
The Ebola hoax report that appeared around 14 October claimed that the city of Purdon, Texas has been quarantined after five family members tested positive for the deadly virus. The story is a complete lie that was first shared by NationalReport.net, which is a satirical news site.
In the past also, National Report has carried several fake stories such as "15-Year-Old Who 'SWATTED' Gamer Convicted of Domestic Terrorism," and "Vince Gilligan Announces Breaking Bad Season 6," to name a few.
The report even claimed that road blocks had been set up around the city to keeping people out of the Ebola-infected town.
The National Report story claimed that a Purdon resident Jack Phillips had been in Dallas earlier in the week on business, but after returning, he started showing symptoms of the flu.
It wasn't until his wife and children started getting sick that they sought medical treatment. That was when they learned they had Ebola, the report noted.
The false news story then citing an anonymous source at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital stated that it appeared that Jack Phillips had not had any direct contact with Thomas Duncan or the nurse who now has Ebola.
In the report the anonymous source then went on to say that it was possible he was in "close proximity" to someone infected with Ebola. An Examiner report quoting a resident of Shawnee, Pery Harris, however, stated: "[I]t is a hoax. You have to have direct contact with the person with Ebola. It isn't airborne and it only lives in bodily fluids a short time. Or, so I have read."
The National Report also stated that CDC has "stopped traffic" in and out of the town of Purdon. and thst as of 10pm on 13 October, the town had been surrounded by both officials from the CDC and police. It was also reported that the United States Department of State issued a "travel advisory" to anyone travelling to and from Texas.
"The Texas city under Quarantine" story was shared at least over 80,000 times on Facebook, before, a Snopes report observed, "no such advisory would apply to Texas as it is not a country outside of the United States.
The hoax report appears to be an effort to gain traction, as Ebola fears have been on an all-time high and many are calling Texas, a 'ground Zero' for Ebola in US.
Recently three nurses from the Texas hospital have been quarantined. Reports claim that the second Ebola-infected nurse Amber Joy Vinson, 29, who took flights between Dallas and Cleveland, may have been at a more advanced stage of the illness than previously thought. Another Texas nurse has been reportedly quarantined onboard a ship near Caribbean.
The CDC officials have maintained that it remains unclear how Vinson and fellow Texas Health Presbyterian nurse Nina Pham acquired the virus.
