Story highlights
Shouting "Ebola" in a public space is a sure-fire way to cause panic
Like yelling "fire" in a theater, it's causing people to fear they might catch it
One man was escorted off a flight after "joking" that he had Ebola
Who shouts “Ebola” on a crowded airplane?
The same person who yells “fire” in a crowded theater even when there are no flames.
The worldwide panic around the Ebola virus and its mostly deadly consequences is starting to inspire tricksters, hucksters and attention hogs to test the limits of the people around them.
While these agitators are finding zero tolerance for that kind of speech, people’s daily lives and travels are being disrupted by the fear and panic surrounding the virus.
Already, it’s cleared a courtroom, emptied a city bus and frightened passengers on several aircraft.
It clears the room
Joseph Britton shut down the courtroom at Broward County, Florida’s main jail with his Friday morning claim that he had Ebola, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Britton made the claim to Broward Judge John “Jay” Hurley, who was holding bond hearings from the main county courthouse via closed-circuit television.
The jail was placed on lockdown while Britton’s claim was investigated. Officials don’t think he has Ebola, but such claims tend to ratchet up the government’s response. Britton was taken the hospital to be tested, and the areas where he had been located were being disinfected.
Want to bet that Britton, who was arrested Thursday on charges of battery, disorderly conduct and other offenses, may get in even more trouble?
Ebola on a plane
Don’t joke about having Ebola on an airplane, especially after passengers who contracted Ebola were known to have flown after getting infected.
A U.S. Airways passenger who made that joke last week received a special escort when he landed: Four officials in blue plastic hazmat suits boarded Flight 845 to retrieve him after it landed in the Dominican Republic.
“I was just kidding,” he could be heard saying in a video posted to social media.
It can be illegal
A public bus driver in Los Angeles was placed in quarantine and his bus removed from service after a masked person yelled “Don’t mess with me, I have Ebola!” as he left the bus.
County health officials, who think it was a hoax, are investigating the incident as a terrorist threat, spokeswoman Sarah Kissell Garrett told the Los Angeles Times.