The Pentagon confirmed that US Army Africa Commander Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Williams and about a dozen US soldiers are currently quarantined in Italy after landing there following a trip in West Africa over the weekend. However, the military officials said there is no indication that any team members have Ebola virus.
On Monday, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed that US soldiers returning from Liberia are being quarantined in Vicenza, Italy out of concern for the dreaded Ebola virus. The Huffington Post reported that about the military troops have been isolated "out of an abundance of caution."
"Out of an abundance of caution the Army directed a small number of personnel, about a dozen that recently returned to Italy to be monitored in a separate location at their home station of Vicenza" Pentagon Spokesperson Col. Steve Warren said as per ABC News. "None of these individuals have shown any symptoms of exposure."
There are currently 11 soldiers in isolation. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported the US soldiers were allegedly met by Carabinieri in full hazmat suits. If the policy remains in effect, everyone returning from Liberia will be put in isolation for 21 days.
The US soldiers are quarantined on the base in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. According to The Telegraph UK, it is the US military's initial response to the Ebola outbreak. Pentagon calls it "enhancing monitoring" and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will decide whether to make isolation apply to all members returning from Liberia.
According to a senior military official, the quarantined soldiers in Italy will eat in a dining tent. CNN also reported that they have a gym and have access to both unclassified and classified means of communication. However, they are unable to see their families.
The World Health Organization stated that over 10,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the world's worst outbreak that started in March. And nearly half of them have already died, which are mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
According to the US Defense Department, a 25-bed hospital in Liberia's capital, Morovia, will be fully operational in the first week of November. American doctors and nurses will treat infected healthcare workers there. The US also set up Ebola testing laboratories.
In the coming days, dozens more soldiers would be quarantined in Italy as they rotate out of West Africa, where the US military has been building medical facilities to aid heath authorities treat Ebola-infected patients.
