New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that despite the rising death toll, there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in New York City and the city is uniquely prepared if there are any, the Daily News reports.
He said there is no need to panic: "We faced terrorists, we faced natural disasters, we now face the possibility of being affected by a pandemic. But the fact is all of those other moments prepared us to handle whatever is thrown at us," he said.
In a statement, acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said medical professionals are regularly doing examinations and screenings of people who may be at risk for Ebola, but none of the screenings have led to patients to have their blood tested for Ebola.
"There are currently no patients in Westchester County or in New York state being tested for Ebola," Zucker said in a statement late yesterday.
All of the major city hospitals have at least one area for isolating patients suspected of having the virus, and the city has the lab capacity to conduct testing if necessary, de Blasio added.
"The way to contain Ebola is the same way we contained measles. It's a very straightforward concept. Diagnose. Isolate. And treat," he said.
And despite the fact that JFK International Airport received nearly half of travelers from the three West African nations over the last year, the Centers for Disease Control announced yesterday that JFK will be among five airports that will have new layers of entry screening for passengers coming from the Ebola-affected nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
