The scene near Amber Vinson’s apartment in northeast Dallas was calm Thursday, if somewhat surreal.
Young professionals jogged on curved sidewalks. A helicopter hovered overhead. Officials shooed away onlookers at the Bend East apartments in the vast Village complex.
Vinson, the 29-year-old nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for Liberian native Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, was 800 miles away in an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. There was no update on her condition Thursday, which had been labeled “stable” the previous day.
Her mother, Debra Berry, who had flown from northeastern Ohio earlier this week to be with her daughter, was instead sequestered in a hotel room in Dallas, being monitored for signs of the disease. Authorities did not disclose the name or location of the hotel. Vinson’s stepfather, Ronald Shuler, was quarantined in Ohio.
They were among the family members Vinson visited last weekend in the Akron suburb of Tallmadge. Vinson, who moved to Dallas from Ohio about two years ago, was discussing wedding plans. The name and whereabouts of her fiancé have not been disclosed.
The fear of Ebola in the United States had been largely confined to the Dallas area since Sept. 30, when Duncan was officially diagnosed with the disease. He died Oct. 8.
On Thursday, tensions had spread to Vinson’s hometown.
In addition to her stepfather, seven Ohio residents — reportedly including several other of Vinson’s relatives — were in voluntary quarantine after having close contact with the Texas nurse in the days before she became sick with the Ebola virus.
The Akron Beacon-Journal said that an undisclosed Summit County store that Amber Vinson visited was closed voluntarily Thursday while public health officials determined whether steps are needed beyond the normal daily cleaning.
Akron Public Schools officials closed a local elementary school about noon Thursday after being notified that a parent had been in contact with Vinson last weekend. The school will reopen Monday.
Meanwhile, residents at The Village complex in Dallas went about their daily activities.
A young couple, Kristal and Shea Davey, were seen packing up outside their apartment. They were preparing to move, but the relocation had been planned long before this week. They were moving to accommodate Kristal’s job.
“We’re not moving around because of fear,” Shea Davey said. “We’re not worried about it.”
Still, Ebola was much on the minds of other Village residents.
Bhwani Patel, 21, an international student at Southern Methodist University, said she lives near Vinson’s apartment. She said she fears the virus — and the panic it has caused.
“I don’t want my parents in India worried about me here,” she said. “I need to focus on my studies. My exams are coming up.”
