Nancy Snyderman, the NBC News doctor who recently returned from Liberia, breached the Ebola protocol for quarantine set for those exposed to others diagnosed with the disease. She has since apologized, saying she knows she made a mistake.
The NBC chief medical editor and her team traveled to Liberia earlier in October, where cameraman Ashoka Mukpo contracted Ebola. While he was flown to a Nebraska hospital, Nancy Snyderman and the remainder of their team were placed on a 21-day mandatory quarantine by New Jersey health officials. It remains in effect until October 22nd. Snyderman was spotted last Thursday, October 9th, sitting in a Mercedes outside of a New Jersey restaurant while a man in her car went inside to pick up food. She was wearing sunglasses at the time–perhaps in hopes of not being discovered?
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams read a statement from Nancy Snyderman on Monday.
“We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal,” she said, after acknowledging that members of her team broke the quarantine rules. “As a health professional I know that we have no symptoms and pose no risk to the public, but I am deeply sorry for the concerns this episode caused.”
EARLIER – NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman apologizes for violating voluntary Ebola quarantine http://t.co/B6CLMDZ33B
— People magazine (@peoplemag) October 14, 2014
Matt Lauer was stopped outside of Rockefeller Plaza on Tuesday and asked about Nancy Snyderman’s breach.
“She’s already admitted she was wrong. I know she feels like it was a mistake and regrettable, and she’s back to quarantine which is where she should be,” Lauer told a TMZ reporter. “I think she knows she made a mistake.”
What do you make of Nancy Snyderman and her breach of the Ebola protocol for people exposed to the disease? What kind of example do you think her actions set for others? If they see that a reputable physician and medical editor breaches protocol, might it seem like it’s okay for others to do so, too?