Gov. Chris Christie Announces Ebola Response Team
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie has signed an executive order to create a joint response team to coordinate Ebola preparedness in the state.
The group will oversee the state's response as officials begin screening passengers from West Africa for Ebola symptoms when they arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport.
As part of the efforts announced Wednesday, after being evaluated by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state Health Department officials would determine if an asymptomatic passenger needs to be quarantined because they are considered high-risk. Those individuals would be taken either to temporary housing or to their home, depending on where they live.
Symptomatic travelers would immediately be transported to one of three designated hospitals in the state.
Christie said at a news conference Wednesday morning at Hackensack University Medical Center that there is no indication that a West African passenger taken to a Newark hospital Tuesday had been infected by the virus, which has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa.
"He is now asymptomatic. There is no indication at this point that he has been infected with the virus," said Christie, adding that he expects that the patient, who had reported symptoms of having potential exposure to the virus, will be released from the hospital after he is interviewed by the CDC.
The CDC said Tuesday that the man was taken to Newark's University Hospital for evaluation. A spokesman said Wednesday that Ebola was ruled out.
Christie said the state is taking the threat of the disease "extraordinarily seriously," but urged calm, saying, "We are not going to be in the business of stoking hysteria" with the public. No patients have been diagnosed with Ebola in New Jersey.
Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd said the state has designated three hospitals to receive Ebola patients: Hackensack, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and University Hospital. The Health Department has also purchased nearly $1 million worth of additional personal protection equipment for hospital workers.
Newark Liberty is one of five airports that President Barack Obama's administration now requires all U.S.-bound passengers from West Africa to pass through. People whose trips began in Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone will be screened for symptoms.
The CDC also announced Tuesday that it will actively monitor all passengers returning from the outbreak region in West Africa for 21 days.
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