Watch CBS News

Kids Back In Class After Ebola Quarantine

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Everyone in North Texas who had direct contact with Ebola patient Thomas Duncan is now in the clear. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those individuals are no longer at risk for contracting the virus. More than four dozen people in the Dallas area had been under observation, including Duncan's fiancee and two others who were in the apartment unit where he had stayed before being admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital late last month.

Also among those people now released from quarantine for Ebola concerns are eight students. Four of them returned to their classes in the Dallas Independent School District on Monday and the others are returning on Tuesday. They have missed 21 days in the community, and are anxious to get back to a normal life.

"I would hope the whole community would understand, and bring them back into the community, and be kind and compassionate to these people who have suffered in this way," said Bishop Kevin Farrell.

In a surprising move, three of the eight students had been attending classes in the Richardson Independent School District, and were transferred to start classes at Jill Stone Elementary School in the Vickery Meadow area.

Complete Coverage Of Ebola In North Texas

While the students were gone, the district used the opportunity to stray from the regular curriculum and teach a lesson that was not planned. Kids learned all about the Ebola virus, and how it impacts lives. But everybody is now ready to move on past the Ebola threat.

None of the returning students have shown any symptoms of the Ebola virus.

Lisa Lovato-Perryman attends Dan D. Rogers Elementary School with one of the returning students. "We sat and had breakfast with the children," she said on Monday. "They were glad to see the child back in the classroom. We sang and welcomed him." Schools plan similar events to welcome back the kids on Tuesday.

Latest News:

Top Trending:

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.