The United States is now officially Ebola free. Dr. Craig Spencer, the New York City physician who contracted the Ebola virus while treating patients in Guinea with Doctors Without Borders, was released from Bellevue Hospital early Tuesday morning. While hundreds are still under observation, his release means the U.S. has no Ebola cases. Spencer is the first and only case of Ebola in New York City.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Bill de Blasio” author_title=”New York City Mayor”]
Dr. Spencer did everything right. Dr. Spencer was an example to us all. He was cool and calm and focused throughout.
[/quote]
After his release, Dr. Spencer made a statement that his infection represents one of thousands of cases in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, urging others to turn their attention back to West Africa to make sure that volunteers and medical workers do not face stigma when they return home again, the Boston Herald reported.
Spencer, 33, spent 20 days in isolation at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital after he tested positive for Ebola on October 23, ABC News reported.
Spencer returned to the U.S. through John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 17 and spent a week traveling through New York City before he developed a fever on October 23. He was rushed to Bellevue after he reported his fever to authorities. At the end of the night, he tested positive for the virus, although officials assured worried New York residents that they were very unlikely to contract the disease.
His infection put New Yorkers on edge and led authorities on a chase to track down his contacts over the last few days, when he rode the subway, a taxi, dined at a restaurant and went bowling. No one else in New York City has tested positive for Ebola, the New York Times reported.
Morgan Dixon, Spencer’s fiance, will remain under quarantine in the couple’s apartment in Harlem until November 14.
