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CNN Saturday Morning News

Funeral to be Held for Anthrax Victim

Aired November 24, 2001 - 10:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tests so far have provided investigators with no clues as to how an elderly Connecticut woman inhaled anthrax. 94-four-year-old Ottilie Lundgren died Wednesday and her funeral is set to begin in less than an hour from now in Oxford, Connecticut. That's where we find our Brian Palmer.

Hello again, Brian.

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. Yes, indeed that funeral is expecting to begin at 11:00. People have already started to arrive at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, which is just behind us here, in Oxford, Connecticut.

The family has asked the media to simply keep the cameras out of the way. But reporters are, as we -- as we -- as far as we know now, will be allowed inside as long as we don't bring any of recording devices with us.

Police have been blocking access to home, to that area, for quite a bit of time, just to maintain some sort of privacy and also to maintain the integrity of their investigation there.

Now, investigators, as we speak, are still coming through this area, trying to determine the source of the anthrax that killed Ottilie Lundgren. They, yesterday, searched her hair salon where she went every Saturday to have her hair done. They also searched the town hall, again, looking for traces of anthrax. But if you look at the pictures, you see that the CDC people here aren't wearing masks. So they're looking for trace elements. They're obviously not concerned about the terrible virulent of whatever trace anthrax may still exist.

Now, last night, local and state public health officials held a town hall meeting essentially to give people a briefing on what anthrax is and how to prevent exposure to it. People in the audience are very, very concerned about those very edgy issues -- how to avoid contracting anthrax if there are any trace elements out there. So it was a very, very composed meeting. But I think there were -- there are still questions remaining at the end of it -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So Brian, these residents are being educated on anthrax, right and kind of the fear is being de-escalated a bit through this education process? PALMER: That was the purpose of the town hall meeting, Kyra. There was also a brief statement by the local postmaster who says they're going to be reissuing a card explaining how to handle mail, that sort of thing. But I think, like everyone else across the country, so little is known about anthrax in this century. Investigators, essentially, learning on the job and they're trying to keep people informed as they learn what they learn -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we count on you, too. Our Brian Palmer, thanks so much.

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