NBC's chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, issued a statement Monday night after allegedly violating her voluntary Ebola quarantine for a quick soup run. The 62-year-old, along with several members of crew, was flown back to the United States from Liberia after their cameraman, Ashoko Mukpo, was diagnosed with Ebola.
"While under voluntary quarantine guidelines, which called for our team to avoid public contact for 21 days, members of our group violated those guidelines and understand that our quarantine is now mandatory until 21 days have passed," she said in a statement read by Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News.
"We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal. 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. We are thrilled that Ashoka is getting better and our thoughts continue to be with the thousands affected by Ebola whose stories we all went to cover."
According to Planet Princeton, New Jersey residents spotted Snyderman sitting in her Mercedes outside of Peasant Grill restaurant in Hopewell. TMZ later reported that two other crew members - also under quarantine - were with the chief medical editor when she went to pick up her food.
According to People magazine the quarantine is effective until Oct. 22 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that a person can develop symptoms of Ebola between two and 21 days after contact.
Following news that the NBC crew had broken their agreement, the New Jersey Department of Health issued a mandatory quarantine.
"Unfortunately, the NBC crew violated this [quarantine] agreement and so the Department of Health today issued a mandatory quarantine order to ensure that the crew will remain confided until Oct. 22," a department official told the Associated Press on Friday.
