(NaturalNews) In breaking news, a lab technician who processed blood and other fluid samples from Thomas Eric Duncan, the first known Ebola victim to arrive unexpectedly on U.S. soil, is currently being quarantined on a Carnival cruise ship after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contacted the company to notify it of a potential disease breach.

The unidentified woman is currently under voluntary quarantine in one of the ship's cabins, along with a travel mate, as the leisure vessel makes its way back to Galveston, Texas. The trip had to be cut short after a scheduled port visit to Cozumel, Mexico, was denied clearance, but the woman is said to be showing no symptoms at this time.

"The employee has been self-monitoring, including daily temperature checks, since Oct. 6, and has not had a fever or demonstrated any symptoms of illness," said CDC spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a recent statement. "It has been 19 days since the passenger may have processed the since deceased patient's fluid samples."

Mexico says no Ebola patients allowed here; US says come on back!

When the woman first decided to travel, official CDC procedures for handling Ebola did not include travel restrictions. Since that time, the CDC has changed its mind, now advising potential secondary infections like the lab worker to avoid interactions with others, including interactions that may occur through mass or public transportation.

"At no point in time has the individual exhibited any symptoms or signs of infection and it has been 19 days since she was in the lab with the testing samples," reads a statement issued by Carnival. "She is deemed by CDC to be very low risk."

This careless dismissal might be enough for the U.S., but Mexico has a much different opinion on the matter. Obviously concerned about a possible Ebola outbreak within its own borders, Mexican officials decided to deny clearance for the ship to port in Cozumel, a popular vacation destination in the Caribbean.

The Central American country of Belize made a similar decision after learning about a possible Ebola case on the ship, refusing to allow the healthcare worker to disembark or be evacuated through the the Phillip Goldson International Airport as requested by the U.S. government.

Exposed healthcare workers being advised by local officials to stay home at all times

Why U.S. officials haven't taken this same precautionary approach is truly mind-boggling. Only after one now-confirmed Ebola victim was found to have traveled by commercial airline to Ohio, and a possible second victim by cruise ship to the Caribbean, are any proactive preventive measures being implemented.

But these measures are primarily being implemented at the local level, with Dallas County officials now advising all healthcare workers who may have been exposed to Ebola through the "patient zero" to stay home and avoid going out in public. The CDC, on the other hand, continues to provide little or no guidance in the matter.

"These are hometown health care heroes," stated Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins about a new plan to voluntarily contain all potential Ebola victims until the 21-day incubation period has run its course. "They want to do this. They're going to follow these agreements."

If anyone refuses to follow the guidelines, says The New York Times, he or she could face a mandatory, state-ordered quarantine.

Learn all these details and more at the FREE online Pandemic Preparedness course at www.BioDefense.com

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com

http://www.foxnews.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://science.naturalnews.com