Ebola: Nigerian girl banned from school for 21 days in US

Nigerian, ebolaA Connecticut elementary school in
US was on Tuesday sued by a Nigerian father,
because his 7-year-old daughter was
discriminated against and banned from school for
21 days based on unreasonable fears she might

have Ebola.
The little girl Ikeoluwa Opayemi, was said to have
attended a wedding along with her father in
Lagos, Nigeria earlier between Oct. 2 and Oct. 13,
which raised the fear and earned her the 21 days
ban.
According to a media report from Reuters, the
father of the girl, Stephen Opayemi filed the
lawsuit in federal court in New Haven,
Connecticut.
He asked the judge to order the schools in
Milford, Connecticut, to permit his daughter to
return to her third-grade class immediately.
Reports showed that Opayemi’s daughter has not
experienced any symptoms associated with Ebola
and her health is fine; however, parents and
teachers were concerned she could transmit Ebola
to other children, the lawsuit said.
“We’re hoping this will get her back into school
as soon as possible”, the girl’s mother, Ikeolapo
Opayemi, said in a brief interview at their home.
Jonathan Berchem, the Milford city attorney, said
he had not seen the suit and could not comment
on it.
Elizabeth Feser, the school superintendent, did not
return a call requesting comment but said in an
email she had not been served with the suit.
African communities in the United States have
reported an increasing amount of ostracism since
the Ebola epidemic began.
At least two speeches by Liberians have been
canceled by U.S. universities, and a college in
Texas refused admission to Nigerian students
over worries about the virus.
Prashant Batil, a neighbor of the Opayemi family,
said his 6-year-old plays often with Ikeoluwa and
that he believed the school system was
overreacting.
“The parents are extremely responsible people,
and if they say she does not have Ebola, I would
have no reluctance for my daughter to play with
her”, he said.
Opayemi’s suit was filed under the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
The law prohibits discrimination based on
someone having a physical or mental impairment,
or on the belief that someone has such
impairment.
Milford officials refused the father’s offer to have
both himself and his daughter screened for Ebola,
the suit said.
According to the suit, a city health official said in
an Oct. 15 meeting that the risk of the girl
infecting anyone was minor but that she ought to
be quarantined because of rumors, panic and the
climate of the school.
City and school officials told Ikeoluwa not to
return to school until Nov. 3, the suit said.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention says there is little or no risk of
contracting Ebola unless someone has been in
close contact with a person who has it and who
is symptomatic.
The case is Ikeoluwa Opayemi v. Milford Public
Schools and City of Milford, U.S. District Court for
the District of Connecticut, No. 3:14-cv-01597.

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