Sue-Ellen Kovack returned to Australia at the weekend after spending a month volunteering at an Ebola hospital with the Red Cross in Sierra Leone - one of the countries hardest hit by the virus that has already claimed almost 3900 lives across five west African nations.
The 57-year-old was admitted to Cairns Hospital on Thursday with a 'low-grade fever' and was expected to know by late evening or early Friday whether she has the virus.
Red Cross Australia international program head Peter Walton said Ms Kovack was on Thursday evening in 'good spirits' despite her perilous situation.
'She's doing well, but obviously she just has to play a bit of a waiting game at the moment,' he said.Walton said it was vital Red Cross aid workers were available to help combat the Ebola crisis, but everything possible was done to reduce the risk to them.
“It’s a tribute to the bravery and courage of many health workers and aid workers that they do go to very difficult environments,” he said.
“We do all we can to mitigate all the risks attached to that.
“But certainly given a situation and an epidemic such as Ebola, it’s absolutely imperative that we do our part to try to contain it.”
He said the nurse was well-regarded and had followed stringent isolation procedures on returning from west Africa a week ago.
“She went over to west Africa as a clinical nurse, and very well-regarded professional in that regard,” Walton told reporters.
“I think it’s a tribute to her professionalism that she has followed that to the ledger of the guidelines, and hence why she presented to Queensland Health authorities.”Read more
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