Monday morning bright and early 730 am, everyone at the hotel piles into the shuttle cars and goes to HQ. We are stopped by guards at the main entrance. While one uses a mirror to scan for bombs hidden under the car, the other guard takes everyone’s temperature.
I, and the 3 other newly arriving professionals meet some key people, attend an epidemiology update report, complete paperwork. We are then taken by car to the UN security office where we receive a detailed security briefing and have our ID cards made. Our driver has waited outside for us for 2 hours now, we find him asleep in the car with the windows rolled up. I get in the back, it is very hot inside and out. The AC does not appear to be working. We pull back up to the security gate at HQ, where we are once again scanned for bombs and have our temps taken. An alarm sounds when mine is checked, 39 degrees! The driver too has an alarm going off on his thermometer, 38.8! I insisted that they check it 3 times using 2 different thermometers. It seems accurate,we must have Ebola! We are whisked out of the car and into the security guard’s room. I feel perfectly fine but am starting to panic. Could I possibly have been exposed? I have only been here 2 days and I haven’t even done anything yet! Ok, maybe I don’t have it but the driver is local so he must have it! Ah! It is not much cooler in the guards hut and I am shoulder to shoulder with 6 security guards taking their break (not exactly an effective quarantine!). A couple people from HQ peek at me from the door and inquire about my well-being. Still feel fine. They take my temperature again, 36.5, what a relief. HQ insists that I stay in the hut for another half hour. They take my temp 3 more times, still normal. I am released into the general public again. Of course, word spread quickly that one of the new staff had been quarantined on site so now I am famous. Lovely, what a great way to start my mission!
Carol in Africa 