Nancy Snyderman under mandatory quarantine after violation

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- A group of NBC journalists, including NBC's chief medical editor Nancy Snyderman, are now under mandatory quarantine after they were spotted out in public last week, violating a voluntary quarantine after one of their crew contracted Ebola on a trip to Africa.

Dr. Snyderman issued an apology Monday, acknowledging that they had indeed left confinement against advice, but assured the public that they were not showing signs of the disease.

"While under voluntary quarantine guidelines, which called for our team to avoid public contact for 21 days, members of our group violated those guidelines and understand that our quarantine is now mandatory until 21 days have passed," Snyderman said in a statement.

"We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal. As a health professional I know that we have no symptoms and pose no risk to the public, but I am deeply sorry for the concerns this episode caused. We are thrilled that Ashoka is getting better and our thoughts continue to be with the thousands affected by Ebola whose stories we all went to cover."

Snyderman's team was placed under voluntary confinement after cameraman Ashoka Mukpo tested positive for the virus on Oct. 1.

Mukpo, 33, was hired in late September to be Snyderman's second cameraman. He was flown to Omaha from Liberia and his family said he has been steadily improving.

Meanwhile, Snyderman was flown back to the U.S. on a private charter flight last weekend and would be placed on voluntary quarantine at her Princeton, N.J. home.

She was spotted sitting in her car outside a restaurant in Hopewell Boro on Oct. 9 while a man who was with her in the car went into the restaurant to pick up a takeout order.

The story was first reported by the Princeton Planet blog, after a reader commented that "she -- or someone who is a dead ringer -- has been spotted in public." The reporter then matched the description of the car and other information to confirm that it was indeed Snyderman.

In response, the state issued a mandatory quarantine Friday night, enforced by the Princeton Police Department and Princeton Health Department. A nurse is visiting daily to monitor Snyderman's temperatures.