City issues Ebola update

The city health and hospitals department issued several updates on Ebola in New York City on Wednesday.

Dr. Craig Spencer, who has been hospitalized since Oct. 23 after he returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea, is showing signs of improvement. Spencer continues to receive treatment in isolation at Bellevue Hospital, and his condition was upgraded to stable last weekend.

The city said Wednesday a patient who previously had contact with Spencer is not showing any symptoms, and is not a public health threat. The individual will no longer be quarantined, but will be checked twice daily by health workers.

There is one individual still quarantined in New York as of Wednesday. Updated numbers show a total of 357 people in the city are being monitored by health department workers.

“The vast majority of these individuals are travelers arriving in New York City within the past 21 days from the three Ebola-affected countries who are being monitored post-arrival, as well as Bellevue Hospital staff caring for Dr. Spencer,” the statement reads. “The list also includes FDNY EMS staff who transported Dr. Spencer to Bellevue and the lab workers who conducted Dr. Spencer’s blood test. All of these individuals are being monitored out of an abundance of caution, and none are showing any symptoms.”