The last patient diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. is now virus-free, New York City health officials announced Monday.
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was diagnosed with the virus after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, will be released from Bellevue Hospital on Tuesday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio told a reporter following an event Monday that he was “thrilled” Spencer will be released and that he was “looking forward” to shaking Spencer’s hand.
The mayor also mentioned that Spencer was “upbeat and positive” during his treatment.
He added that Spencer has told him repeatedly that “everyone at Bellevue was just extraordinary. They were willing to take some risks themselves to make sure he was well, and they did an amazing job.”
He received a plasma transfusion from the second American Ebola patient, Nancy Writebol, on Oct. 25, according to SIM, the Christian organization that Writebol worked with before she was admitted to Emory University Hospital in August.
Spencer’s fiancee, Morgan Dixon, was released from the hospital two weeks ago and returned to the couple’s Hamilton Heights apartment. She had not developed any sign of the illness, and she was to remain under quarantine at home.
Following Spencer’s release, the staff who cared for the doctor will be monitored for Ebola symptoms. According to health officials, the number of people under “active monitoring” for Ebola in the city tripled last week from 117 cases on Monday, to 357 people Wednesday. According to NBC, the majority of those being monitored arrived in New York City within the past 21 days from Ebola-affected countries.
All of those being monitored showed no symptoms but are being checked on out of “an abundance of caution,” officials said.
City officials and de Blasio will discuss Spencer’s recovery during a Tuesday morning press conference.
SOURCE: NBC | PHOTO CREDIT: LinkedIn | VIDEO SOURCE: News Inc.
