43 cleared from Ebola watch list, more to come

DALLAS – Monday's news conference on the local Ebola crisis took on a brighter tone, as officials shared news of a shrinking Ebola watch list and the release of the family of the first Ebola patient's family from quarantine.

"There is no question today is a milestone day," said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, "but there are more hurdles we need to jump."

Dallas County officials said Monday morning 43 people have been cleared off of the Ebola virus watch list after they were added following contact with first U.S. Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan. Those included the family of Duncan, who he lived with in a small apartment as he became symptomatic and could transmit the virus.

"The group is a mix of health care workers, household contacts and community members whose last possible contact with the state's first patient was Sept. 28," the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said one more person will be taken off of the watch list later Monday and four more will be removed in the coming days if they don't present any symptoms of Ebola.

Jenkins stressed that the group posed no threat to the community.

"We have to believe in the science," Jenkins said. ""This is a defining moment for Dallas. The world is watching Dallas. Dallas must show grace and compassion."

According Rawlings, 120 people remained on the Ebola watch list as of Monday morning. He said the "magic day" where all who had exposure to contacts with Ebola would be cleared from observation is Nov. 7.

Gov. Rick Perry issued a statement Monday after the news conference expressing "guarded optimism" over the positive news.

"Continuous vigilance in confronting this threat and the cooperation of those affected is what has brought us to this point, and we look forward to the day when the remaining individuals can also be removed from active monitoring," Perry said.

Monday's news conference on the local Ebola crisis took on a brighter tone, as officials shared news of a shrinking Ebola watch list and the release of the family of the first Ebola patient's family from quarantine. News 8's Jenny Doren has more. WFAA

Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles said five district students who had been on the Ebola watch list have been cleared and four of the five returned to classes Monday. The students had been scheduled to return to classes Tuesday, but Miles said in a statement Monday the students "were obviously eager to return" to school.

"Because they have been cleared by medical authorities and pose no health risk to any students or staff, we have no intent on sending them home," Miles said. "Their interest in getting back into school is encouraging."

Additionally, three elementary school students who were on the watch list in Richardson ISD have also been cleared and will be transferring to a DISD elementary. They will begin attending DISD classes Tuesday. An RISD spokesman said the reason of the students' withdrawal from the district was not due to health reasons but wouldn't say more, citing the family's privacy.

School staff have been advised to watch for any signs of bullying of the children who were on the watch list.

Jenkins again stressed that nurse Amber Vinson's decision to board a flight from Ohio to Texas was made by health officials in Atlanta. He said while she shouldn't have been cleared to travel, but the nurse "did nothing wrong" and was in conversations with national health officials every step of the way.

"This was not a perfect response," Jenkins said of Vinson being told she could board the flight.

"That was a mistake and that caused her problems," Jenkins said. "That caused panic in our community. It caused people to miss school. It caused a lot of overreaction. It was a mistake and we apologize."

Vinson's family issued a statement saying they have hired a lawyer and are troubled by comments and media coverage that "mischaracterize" Vinson, who is being treated at Emory University in Atlanta. Vinson "has not and would not knowingly expose herself or anyone else," and "suggestions that she ignored any of the physician and government-provided protocols recommended to her are patently untrue and hurtful," the statement says.

According to officials, Vinson and fellow Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Nina Pham are talking to their families via video chat at their respective hospitals. Updates on their conditions will come from the hospitals where they are being treated.

"My hope and belief is that both of those women will walk out of the hospital," Jenkins said.

The county judge also said he could not speak about the condition of Nina Pham's boyfriend, who is also being watched for symptoms of Ebola.

Rawlings thanked Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas for providing housing for Thomas Eric Duncan's fiancee, Louise Troh, and family had been staying in while they were monitored. Rawlings said the family was staying at a Catholic retreat in Oak Cliff owned by the Diocese.

The family has now been cleared, officials said.

"I want to breathe, I want to really grieve, I want privacy with my family," Troh told the Associated Press shortly before the family was released from quarantine.

The family has requested privacy as they attempt to get back to their everyday lives. Officials again asked that the community welcome them back with open arms and said they have been cleared and should not be stigmatized.

"These are people who need our compassion, our respect and our love," Jenkins said. "Treat them the way you would like your family to be treated."

Jenkins said last week the family's lease at the Ivy Apartments ended last month and that county officials will work with the family to find someplace suitable to live.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said those caring for Duncan were vulnerable because some of their skin was exposed.

The CDC is working on revisions to safety protocols. Earlier ones, Fauci said, were based on a World Health Organization model for care in remote places, often outdoors, and without intensive training for health workers.

"So there were parts about that protocol that left vulnerability, parts of the skin that were open," Fauci said.

Health officials had previously allowed hospitals some flexibility to use available covering when dealing with suspected Ebola patients. The new guidelines are expected to set firmer standards: calling for full-body suits and hoods that protect worker's necks; setting rigorous rules for removal of equipment and disinfection of hands; and requiring a "site manager" to supervise the putting on and taking off of equipment.

The guidelines also are expected to require a "buddy system" in which workers check each other as they come in and go out, according to an official who was familiar with the guidelines but not authorized to discuss them before their release.

Hospital workers also will be expected to exhaustively practice getting in and out of the equipment, the official said.

Nurses have been clamoring for more guidance and better garb, saying they have never cared for Ebola patients before and feel unprepared and underequipped.

"If hospital administrators had to take care of Ebola patients, they would have the gold standard and hazmat suits," said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, a union with 185,000 members.

In some places where they have the suits, nurses have not practiced taking them on and off.

"The hospital is sending them essentially a link to the CDC website. That's not preparation. That's like a do-it-yourself manual," DeMoro said.

The Pentagon announced Sunday that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had ordered the formation of a 30-person military support team to assist civilian medical professionals in the U.S. to treat Ebola. The team won't be sent overseas, and will "be called upon domestically only if deemed prudent by our public health professionals," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement.

USA TODAY's John Bacon contributed to this story