An American doctor, who became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in New York, is in stable condition even as the mayor appealed to New Yorkers to remain calm reiterating the city’s preparedness to handle the deadly disease that has killed thousands in west Africa.
Craig Spencer, a 33-year-old doctor, remains “hospitalised in isolation” at the Bellevue Hospital here and is in “stable condition,” Commissioner of the NYC Health Department Mary Bassett told presspersons here today.
Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraged New Yorkers to go about their daily routines and said there is no reason to be alarmed with the emergence of the virus in the city.
“There is no reason for New Yorkers or visitors to be alarmed. Ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are not at risk. There is no reason for New Yorkers to change their daily routine in any way,” he said adding that Spencer is being held in isolation at Bellevue and “poses no threat to others”.
Three persons, including Spencer’s fiancee and two friends, were in contact with him during the days he returned from Guinea and was admitted to the hospital.
City officials said the three have been quarantined but are “well”.
The mayor, urging New Yorkers to get flu shots, said the city has been “training” for two-and-a-half months for a situation like this.
“The capacity of our medical community to address this issue is extraordinary,” he said, adding that the process undertaken to transfer Spencer from his apartment to the hospital “played out exactly as the protocol dictated”.
“We have the finest public health system in the world. We are fully prepared to handle Ebola,” the mayor said adding that Bellevue is “thoroughly prepared”.
The mayor reiterated that casual contact cannot lead to acquiring Ebola but urged New Yorkers to call the emergency system in case they begin displaying Ebola-like symptoms.
Bassett said that Spencer “valiantly” volunteered to work in Guinea and was feeling well and had no fever at the time he left Guinea on October 14.
Spencer arrived in New York on October 17 flying in at the JFK International Airport. He first reported having a fever of 100.3 degrees on Thursday and was immediately taken to the Bellevue hospital.
In the days since he returned to New York, Spencer was mostly confined alone in his apartment but did take the subway train to a bowling alley in Brooklyn. He later took a taxi ride to return home.
Bassett said Spencer’s apartment has been locked and “we don’t see any possibility that he contaminated his apartment“.
City officials are in constant contact with the Center for Disease Control and federal agencies would be monitoring any individual who has returned from west African nations most impacted by Ebola.