A student caused a public health panic Thursday morning at Southwestern College when she told her instructor that she and family members had been quarantined because of possible exposure to Ebola during a flight to the Midwest.
She later recanted the story, but not before parts of the campus were cordoned off and alarm spread among students and community members.
Lillian Leopold, a spokeswoman for the Chula Vista-based college, told KPBS that the student had missed several classes and was in danger of being dropped from the course.
“The only thing that’s true is that they (she and her family) were on an airplane going to the Midwest last week,” Leopold said.
She said the college was "trying to dissect the entire incident." A statement released Thursday evening by the college said the incident had turned into a "student conduct matter."
During the investigation, the area around a building on the main campus was cordoned off out of precaution, with some students forced to stay inside for several hours. Safety alerts were sent via text to all students and staff, according to college authorities.
The cordoned off areas were reopened at 1 p.m. after Southwestern College officials spoke with county public health officers and confirmed that local hospitals had no reports of patients suspected of being exposed to Ebola.
Less than an hour later, according to the college's statement, the student recanted her story that she and family members had been exposed to Ebola and confirmed that no member of her family had been in the hospital.
