Public School Lifts Ban on Girl Barred over Ebola Fears

A 7-year-old girl banned from attending school in Connecticut over fears that she may be carrying the Ebola virus after a trip to Nigeria will be allowed back on Frida

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(Reuters) - A 7-year-old girl banned from attending school in Connecticut over fears that she may be carrying the Ebola virus after a trip to Nigeria will be allowed back on Friday, according to a joint statement by the school district and the girl's father.

A widely publicized lawsuit brought by the father, Stephen Opayemi, against Milford Public Schools demanding her readmission will be settled, according to the statement, without giving further details.

"The student has had no contact with any Ebola patients and she does not have Ebola," the statement said. "The student does not present any health risk to any individual."

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Third-grader Ikeoluwa Opayemi traveled to and from Lagos, Nigeria, between Oct. 2 and Oct. 13, according to the lawsuit. Her father, a native of Nigeria, also went.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, had 20 Ebola cases and eight deaths this year before the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free on Oct. 19.

The lawsuit made headlines earlier this week as one of the flashpoints in a running struggle between several states wishing to enforce stringent measures to guard against Ebola and a federal government wary of infringing civil rights and discouraging potential medical volunteers.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby in Seattle; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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