NBC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman has apologized for violating a voluntary Ebola quarantine after returning to the United States from covering the deadly virus in Liberia.
Despite a 21 day quarantine, Snyderman was seen going to a New Jersey restaurant last week and came under heavy criticism in the media. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Willams read a statement from her addressing the issue on Monday’s broadcast.
Also read: ‘The View’ Slams NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman for Breaking Ebola Quarantine: ‘It’s Pretty Dumb’
“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. We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal,” the statement said.
“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 [Mukpo] is getting better and our thoughts continue to be with the thousands affected by Ebola whose stories we all went to cover.”
Also read: CNN, Fox News, MSNBC Go Wall-to-Wall With Ebola Coverage After Texas Nurse Tests Positive (Update)
As TheWrap previously reported, Snyderman and her crew returned to the U.S. earlier this month after learning that freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo was diagnosed with Ebola while working in Liberia. After the discovery, NBC News president Deborah Turness wrote in a note to staff: “In an abundance of caution, we will fly them back on a private charter flight and then they will place themselves under quarantine in the United States for 21 days — which is at the most conservative end of the spectrum of medical guidance.”
However, Snyderman was spotted Thursday in the parking lot of Peasant Grill restaurant in Hopewell, New Jersey — violating the quarantine. Snyderman is now under a mandatory quarantine, enforced by the Princeton Police Department and the Princeton Health Department.
Also read: Chris Brown Draws Outrage After Calling Ebola Epidemic a ‘Form of Population Control’
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those exposed to Ebola develop symptoms anywhere from two to 21 days after coming into contact with the virus.
Mukpo, 33, returned to the U.S. last week and was admitted to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, one of the few medical facilities in the U.S. with experience treating Ebola.
Watch the video below of Brian Williams reading Snyderman’s statement.