Bronx boy tests negative for Ebola

A Bronx boy who was hospitalized Sunday night has tested negative for Ebola, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The 5-year-old boy, who had recently returned to the U.S. from Guinea, was taken to to Bellevue Hospital on Sunday night by an EMS HAZ TAC unit. He developed a fever early Monday morning, and an Ebola test was ordered.

Results came back about 6 p.m. on Monday.

“Out of an abundance of caution, further negative Ebola tests are required on subsequent days to ensure that the patient remains cleared,” the health department said in a release. The boy will be tested for “common respiratory viruses” and will be held in isolation for further testing.

Dr. Craig Spencer, who returned from a Doctors Without Borders trip to Guinea on Oct. 17, and was hospitalized last week, remains in serious but stable condition.

Earlier Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio declined to comment on the boy’s condition, because test results were not yet back.

De Blasio urged New Yorkers to “pay attention to the facts” and not “give into fear” regarding healthcare workers in the city and their exposure to Ebola.

“The only way that there would even be a cause for concern, is if one of them were to have any symptoms. To date, none have,” de Blasio said. “People taking proper precautions, caring for these patients, are not a threat to anyone else. And if we treat heroic people who are serving us like there is something wrong with them, we do a disservice to the fight against Ebola.”