Protective equipment in the isolation unit at Westmead Hospital. Photo: NSW Health/Carlos Furtado
A passenger off a flight from West Africa has been transferred to Westmead and placed in isolation with a low-grade fever.
NSW Health was notified by Sydney Airport Agriculture border officers on Christmas Eve, after the passenger returning from Sierra Leone presented a low grade temperature after a routine screening.
Acting chief health officer Dr Jeremy McAnulty did not release the age or gender of the passenger but said the person presented no other significant symptoms, and “appears otherwise well and reports no risk factors for Ebola virus disease”.
Precautionary measures were taken before the person was transferred to Westmead Hospital for further clinical assessment. The individual will be tested for Ebola and assessment is expected to take several hours, Mr McAnulty said in a statement.
NSW Health protocols require patients with a fever who have recently returned from a high-risk area be placed into a designated isolation room. Hospital staff are not to have contact with the patient unless wearing protective equipment and the patient is to be issued a surgical mask.
Westmead Hospital declined to comment.
– with Michael Koziol and AAP