New York prepared for the possibility that hospitals would have to address Ebola by training medical personnel and equipping facilities across the state, New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday.
"We've had weeks to prepare. We took it very, very seriously. I think we've had one of the most comprehensive preparation efforts in the country.
"The state has about 200 hospitals. We trained all 200 hospitals. We identified eight hospitals that would be the hospitals that we would go to in a case like the one that developed yesterday," Cuomo said.
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New York City was faced with its first diagnosed case of Ebola when Dr. Craig Spencer, who had been working with Ebola patients in Guinea, tested positive with the disease on Thursday.
Spencer, who returned from Guinea a week ago, rode the subway, went to a bowling alley and took a cab on Wednesday, raising concerns whether he could have infected others with the disease.
Medical personnel had been supplied with proper equipment, were trained and "felt ready," Cuomo said, adding there was "no panic or anxiety in the system" once confronted with a patient with the disease.
Another advantage was that officials were "dealing with a doctor who was familiar with the illness."
"As soon as he saw that he was symptomatic, he presented at the hospital," Cuomo said. "When he got to the hospital, we were ready."
Spencer had a fever of 100.3 when he went to the hospital, not 103, as had been previously reported, Cuomo said.
In addition to being ready to handle future cases of Ebola, Cuomo said the other issue was dealing with "anxiety and fear" among the public.
"You say Ebola. People are scared, after what they've been watching on TV, et cetera. He had ridden the subways, et cetera. So, understanding the disease, the best cure's information. Understanding the disease is not like the flu," he said.
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