Ebola-Stricken Hams To Be Quarantined to Allocated Band Space

http://hamhijinks.com/

     By K5KAC, on the hermetically sealed scene

ATLANTA, Georgia — In a move that aims to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus among ham radio operators, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Radio Retransmission League (NRRL) have begun allocating band space for radio enthusiasts showing symptoms. “We are trying to be proactive here,” says Husk Buckwalter, Head of Infectious Disease Prevention and Card Checker for the NRRL. Citing that his work is typically sanitizing microphones and straight keys at hamfests, he admits he is “a little in over his head.”

Both the CDC and the NRRL admit that the risk of spread is very little considering hams are solitary hobbyists that rarely socialize in-person. However, they have begun testing different frequencies that should be safe for ill hams.

Buckwalter notes, “We believe our best frequencies for containing Ebola will be between 14.212-14.214 MHz.”

The CDC declined to comment directly, but in a news release urges hams to please differentiate symptoms between “a heavy afternoon at the Golden Corral” and “true illness” before confining themselves to radio quarantine.