After her return from Liberia, the vice president of a San Diego-based nonprofit became one of four people in the county monitored for symptoms of Ebola.
Holding a thermometer given to her in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention packet, Peg Ross walked through her daily ritual.
“I need to keep track of my temperature twice a day for 21 days, per the CDC,” she explained.
She tracks her temperature and writes down the names of everyone she sees on a log sheet.
“I’m not required to keep track of where I go and who I see, but I was used to that in Liberia,” Ross said.
Ross is one of two people the San Diego County Health Department is currently monitoring for Ebola after returning from West Africa. Active monitoring means Ross is showing no symptoms of Ebola and is at low risk for contracting it, so she can go about her normal activities without any travel or movement restrictions.
So far this year, health officials say they’ve kept watch on four people in all.
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Ross, the vice president of human resources for Project Concern International (PCI), returned Saturday from Liberia, where she worked on the front lines of the fight against Ebola.
“We reached 140,000 people with the message of how to prevent Ebola, what to do if you suspect someone in your family has Ebola,” said Ross of her time there.
But she herself did not visit any clinical settings and lived with a fellow American from Florida, which helped limit her exposure to the disease. That’s why the health department put her on monitoring, not quarantine.
Part of her daily routine during her two weeks in Liberia included taking staff’s and visitors’ temperatures as they entered or exited the office.
They were also required to wash their hands with a chlorine solution. “My hands have never been so clean," Ross said.
PCI team members educate Liberians about curbing the spread of Ebola. They've also been providing cleaning and medical supplies to the area.
On Monday, PCI is scheduled to break ground on 10 clinics in the Ebola-ravaged region. They are also raising funds to buy protective gear for aid workers.
