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Good morning AWS Partners,
We would like to share with you a statement from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
NEW YORK, NY 10007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2014
CONTACT: pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov , (212) 788-2958
AUDIO: https://soundcloud.com/nycmayorsoffice/10-23-14-bellevue-hospital-press-...
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBH4m1U-0R0&list=UUlnI1zhyzv_BPb-VSHEtniw
Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good evening. Before I offer remarks, I just want to note - we are joined by Governor Andrew Cuomo, by Health Commissioner Mary Basset of the city of New York, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker of the state of New York, the president of the Health and Hospitals Corporation of New York City, Dr. Ram Raju, and on the phone, Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Frieden will address us after the remarks by the rest of us.
Today, testing confirmed that a patient here in New York City had tested positive for Ebola. The patient is now here in Bellevue Hospital. We want to state at the outset - there is no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed. Ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. It is transmitted only through contact with an infected person's blood or other bodily fluids - not through casual contact. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person's bodily fluids are not at all at risk. And we want to emphasize that New York City has the world's strongest public health system, the world's leading medical experts, and the world's most advanced medical equipment.
We have been preparing for months for the threat posed by Ebola. We have clear and strong protocols, which are being scrupulously followed and were followed in this instance. And Bellevue Hospital is specially designed for isolation, identification, and treatment of Ebola patients. Every hospital in the city is prepared in the event that other patients come forward.
The patient in question is a doctor who has worked with Ebola patients in West Africa. And when his symptoms emerged, he was taken to Bellevue by specially trained emergency medical service workers who followed all transport protocols. The patient is now in isolation. The health department has a team of disease detectives, who have been at work tracing all of the patient's contacts, and we are prepared to quarantine contacts as necessary.
There have been reports about the patient's movements. Again, these medical detectives are at work putting together the pieces of the timeline. But we emphasize again, Ebola is very difficult to contract. Being on the same subway car or living near a person with Ebola does not in itself put someone at risk. We are working very closely with our state and federal partners to ensure that we protect the health of all New Yorkers. People should rest assured that the extraordinary medical professionals of this city and this state are working to ensure that every protection is in place.
A moment of commentary in Spanish before I turn to Governor Cuomo:
Hoy el Hospital Bellevue admiti� un paciente que di� positivo por Ebola
No hay motivo de alarma. Las posibilidades de que el neoyorquino promedio contraiga Ebola siguen siendo muy, muy peque�as.
La Ciudad se ha estado preparando para el �bola durante meses y tenemos un sistema bien dise�ado para diagnosticar, aislar y tratar a este paciente
With that, I want to welcome comments by Governor Cuomo, who has remained in close communication with us here in the city over the last weeks. His team has been extraordinary in their preparation, their coordination with us. Welcome, Governor Cuomo.
NYC OEM Human Services Unit:
Human Services email distribution list: humanservices@oem.nyc.gov
Johanna Conroy
Director of Human Services
Cell: 917-662-3295
jconroy@OEM.NYC.GOV
Marianne Jackson
Special Needs Liaison
Cell: 646-335-5693
mjackson@oem.nyc.gov
Cynthia Barton
Disaster Housing Recovery Plan Manager
Cell: 917-468-2768
cbarton@oem.nyc.gov
Eli Fresquez
Special Needs Coordinator
Cell: 347-386-0389
efresquez@oem.nyc.gov
Jay Brandt
Human Services Emergency Preparedness Manager
Cell: 646-596-3147
jbrandt@oem.nyc.gov
Annette Santiago
Director of Human Resources
Cell: 347-534-7028
asantiago@oem.nyc.gov
Marnie Suss
Interagency Training Coordinator
Cell: 718-468-1728
msuss@oem.nyc.gov