An Ebola joke on a plane bound from Philadelphia to the Dominican Republic got a passenger carried off the flight upon its arrival by four men in hazmat suits.
According to Dominican news site Dario Libre, the unnamed passenger – a 54-year-old African-American man – reportedly sneezed, then said aloud, "I have Ebola, you are all screwed."
Fellow passengers on US Airways flight 845
told Fox News Latino that the passenger also shouted "I’ve been to Africa!" in addition to other alarming statements.
One passenger posted an 8-minute video of the incident, wherein four men in blue clean suits boarded the plane and removed the man. While they're escorting him off the plane he can be heard saying "I ain’t from Africa."
The medical team examining the man quickly discovered that he had no symptoms consistent with Ebola, however the other 290 passengers were kept inside the plane in the middle of the tarmac for roughly two hours while his status was determined.
Paola Rainieri, vice president of communications for the group that owns the airport, said that when all was said and done the incident was the result of a simple "joke of poor taste."
"We don’t know why he did it, but he thought it would be a cute joke that would not be so serious," she said. "Thankfully it was only a scare."
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