Ohio man indicted after police say he claimed to have Ebola

A Cleveland man claimed he'd contracted the Ebola virus in 2014, but he's now been indicted as police say he made the whole thing up.

WEWS reports emergency workers were sent to the aid of James Midgette last year after he called 911 saying he'd become infected with Ebola.

"We had to call out our specialized unit. We had to put our guys in encapsulated suits. We had to block off streets," Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Larry Gray told WEWS.

When transporting people suspected to have contracted Ebola, emergency crews don protective body suits to make sure they don't come into contact with bodily fluids from someone who's sick.

The police report said Midgette claimed he'd traveled to Guinea and two other countries in Africa.

The Ebola outbreak has become so severe in Guinea that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging U.S. residents to refrain from traveling to the country unless absolutely necessary.

WEWS reports the hospital where Midgette was taken didn't end up testing him for the virus because his story didn't add up after personnel checked with the Transportation Security Administration.

But Midgette says he never made that 911 call claiming he had Ebola.

"In fact, when he talked to police, he said his birthday was Nov. 1, 2014. He's 59. Midgette also told police he's schizophrenic and he may have imagined he went to Africa," WEWS reporter Michael Baldwin said.

Metro Hospital says the fake Ebola story cost it $8,000. Midgette's arraignment is scheduled for the end of May.

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