Marjorie Owens, Jason Whitely and Rebecca Lopez

WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth



FRISCO, Texas — Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas received a patient Wednesday from an urgent care center amid concerns he was exhibiting Ebola symptoms.

However, federal and local officials said the patient has not exhibited complete Ebola symptoms and they have questions about his degree of potential exposure.

"Right now, there are more questions than answers about this case," the hospital said in a news release. It will take up to 48 hours to determine whether the man tests positive for Ebola.

Thomas Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the case hasn't been confirmed, with "no definite contact" with the Liberian man who died in a Texas hospital of Ebola and "no definite symptoms" clearly indicating Ebola.

Frisco, Texas Mayor Maher Maso said at a news conference that local emergency officials transported the man to the hospital with Ebola-level precautions out of "an overabundance of caution.''

The patient was identified as Sgt. Michael Monning, a deputy who accompanied Dallas County health officials Zachary Thompson and Christopher Perkins into the apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan stayed in Dallas.

Duncan died earlier Wednesday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital where he had been hospitalized with Ebola since Sept. 28. He arrived Sept. 20 in the United States from Monrovia, Liberia.

The deputy was ordered to go inside the unit with officials to get a quarantine order signed. No one who went inside the unit that day wore protective gear, and Monning had objected strenuously to that decision.

The Frisco CareNow is located on Main Street in this suburb about 20 miles north of Dallas. Patients were being held inside the clinic as crews at the scene examined staff and others inside the building.

Police and fire units surrounded the facility, initially taping off a gray sport-utility vehicle Monning owns.

"We are being very cautious and are in contact with the health department to ensure we follow proper protocol," said Vicki Johns of CareNow. "Our concern is for the safety and well being of everyone in our clinic."

Monnig said he was feeling sick to his stomach before his visit to the clinic, according to Christopher Dyer of the Dallas County Sheriff's Association.

Monnig's son, London Monnig, said his father did not mean to cause a panic Wednesday. London Monnig said his father did not have a fever when he went to the clinic. He said his father was simply not feeling well Wednesday morning.

"He woke up, and he just kind of felt sore and had a bit of a stomach ache," London Monnig said. "He's a very cautious person, so he took it upon himself to check himself out to make sure he's OK."

Chuck Moreno, who went into the CareNow center with his 15-year-old son to get a flu shot, said he saw a patient whose skin was flushed enter the clinic with his wife. He was hunched over but walking.

Within minutes, police and fire units were there. Moreno said he asked a CareNow employee if the response was related to Ebola, and the employee nodded her head "yes."

Moreno said he and his son went into an examination room, put on surgical masks they found there and sprayed disinfectant on themselves. Staff told them he and his son could not leave CareNow and would be transferred to a major medical center.

Contributing: Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

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