Two students from Africa were kept from starting school on time in New Jersey because of Ebola fears.

Parents of students at the Howard Yocum Elementary School in Maple Shade, New Jersey freaked out when they found out two students from Africa were enrolled and starting school on Monday.

The school nurse wrote a letter to the school staff informing them of the students pending arrival from Rwanda. According to NBC10, the nurse wrote, “This is not an area identified as a country with an Ebola outbreak, however l am taking precautions as per the health guidelines of the Burlington County Health Department. I will be taking the students' temperature three times a day for 21 days.”

Her letter, not originally released to parents, caused panic among parents and staff alike. "A lot of people were going to pull their kids out of school. A lot of people weren't going to go to work," Bryan Huff, a custodian at Yocum Elementary, told NBC10. 

Just days before the students’ start of school, Beth Norcia, the Superintendent of Schools in the Maple Shade School District, announced that the parents of the students decided to keep them home past the 21-day waiting period. 

“The Maple Shade School District takes the health of all students and staff very seriously.  As many of you are aware, we have students who have spent time in the eastern portion of Africa that were scheduled to start in our schools on Monday.  This area of Africa has been unaffected by the Ebola virus.  Despite the fact that the students are symptom-free and not from an affected area, the parents have elected to keep their children home past the 21 day waiting period.  The family is looking forward to joining the Maple Shade Schools the following week.”