>> welcome back to our special coverage of the ebola crisis. this is aljazeera america. and you're looking at a live picture of a news conference that's about to begin in brooklyn, new york. and mayor bill de blasio will be addressing the public. the latest ebola patient diagnosed here in the u.s. is a doctor that works with doctors without borders in new guinea, and he's now in isolation at a hospital in new york city. and we're also waiting a live press conference at the nih clinic in bethesda, maryland, and they're set to announce why the nurse, nina pham, is expected to be discharged

today. she's now ebola free. the second dallas nurse to be ebola free this week. so that is good news. i want to go right now to aljazeera's libby casey, who has been following a hearing by the congressional oversight committee. they have been talking a lot about accountability in the last few minutes, libby e. especially with regards to the military personnel. i just looked up numbers, in senegal, in preparation, how has the white house and the pentagon been addressing those concerns? >> well, those troops, stephanie, as part of what's being billed as operating united assistance. more needs to be done in west africa to help with communication and help with logistics, so to that end,

they're creating a joint force headquarters in monrovia, libya's capital. so to give you a sense of what's going on over there, we did see the head of the commission to liberia this week taking troops along, and we'll see as many as 700 troops coming there in the coming days. part of their effort is to deal with some of these logistical hurdles that west africa has been facing. so why have officials say and that was hospitals establishing beds in the hospitals, and setting up medical treatment so that people can be treated and they're helping with the basic training, making sure that doctors have what they need. as the white house has fielded questions, the department of

defense has fielded questions on how the soldiers are going to stay safe, they have made sure that they put on protective gear appropriately and taken it off appropriately to minimize any of the contagions, and also, they're going to be monitoring the members of the military for temperature changes. when those members of the military come home to the united states, the officials say they won't be quarantined for 21 days, but they will be monitored and watched. and of course as we just heard in this hearing, if someone in the military does get ebola, does get sick with the disease, there will be questions about whether or not the military has support on whether the military has the ability to get patients back to the u.s. you heard questions there, and the officials saying that the current state, that the u.s.

military can take 10 people out of the country who are sick with ebola and who have contradicted it. they said it's not sufficient. if they have the virus, have ebola, and they can move them back and forth. >> i understand that the airborne will take over, and the commander of the 101 said recently that there's minimal risk to those troops. libby, i want to go to our reporter on the ground in new york city. she's at the hospital where the latest ebola patient in the u.s. is being isolated, erica, what can you tell us to expect when it comes to mayor de blasio's news conference? >> well, we can certainly expect, stephanie that the mayor is going to come out and get in front of this fear

factor. a lot of americans waking up this morning seeing the front page of the newspaper, saying that ebola is here in new york city. a densely populated city, and that's going to make people concerned, and not to mention that we know that dr. craig spencer the day before he reported that the day before, he was out bowling and in a cab and a restaurant, and that has been stirring fears. we have been talking to people walking by, and one woman said i'm not taking the subway today. i'm walking to work because i'm concerned. the goal here is to probably stem those fears, but also to hopefully give more information, because we have not been hearing much from the officials at the hospital. they have been stepping back and saying, wait until the press conference is coming up. but we do know that the cdc team is on the ground and right here at belleview as we speak.

i saw a tweet come out by dr. tom freedman of the cdc. and he said they had some folks on the ground last night and followed it up with reinforcements. so they will be monitoring to see that all protocols are being followed. but this is something that mayor de blasio said yesterday that he really praised how all of the workers involved when it went down yesterday that everybody followed clear and strong protocol. so hopefully again we'll be getting much more information coming up in a few minutes. >> you mentioned the subways, erica. mayor bill de blasio, i followed him on twitter. and 35 minutes ago, he tweeted a picture of himself, this picture in fact, clearly on the subway, presumably today. and he headed to the press conference, and he declared we're working very closely with our state and federal partners for the health of all

new yorkers. erica, all of those things that you just talked about, the cdc rapid response force, is something that we did not see in dallas. belleview hospital, they were afraid this would happen, right. >> absolutely. that's something that governor cuomy and mayor de blasio said. we have been planning and drilling for this, not just the hospital, including this designated hospital for ebola treatment, but also the transportation system x. the airport. and so this is something that really new york city was in a sense waiting for. let's get out in front of this before this comes, so that we are 100% ready. and something that governor cuomo had said late last night in the press conference, hey, we were as ready as anyplace could be for this happening. and you pointed out mayor de

blasio putting that picture of himself on the subway. and don't be afraid of the subways. i myself am going to be riding every single subway line that dr. spencer rode the night before i reported that fever. >> okay, let's get the medical expert's opinion on whether or not we should ride the subways. dr. celine, an infectious disease specialist joining us by phone. doctor, should there been any concern? you have said over and over again that you have to be symptomatic in order to spread ebola. do we know that for certain? >> here's the way i would explain it. the reasons that patients need to be tested for 21 days, they test negative, and there's no virus detectable until they develop symptoms. so the first is when they

develop symptoms. and if there's no virus detectable, you can't test them. >> the other thing you and i were talking about this morning, should there be federal protocols? guidelines on the aid workers and the doctors coming back. i know that you're planning to go to the region in a couple of months ago, and what do you think should be done in that regard? >> i think that we need better support for those willing to put their lives at risk and volunteer over there. there's a lot that we have to do. we need to take time off for training, and then there's 21 days, where you can't work, and i think that having systems where healthcare workers are supported to do this, and they have support to deal with family issues and all of that kind of thing, i think it would be great. and other ways that others

directly over there. >> now, dr. craig spencer, now in isolation in the hospital, i understand that he was self monitoring, based on doctors without borders guidelines, but that's different than staying inside and isolating himself and quarter teening himself. should he have gone a step further? >> we don't know for sure, but at the time, the only thing that we know, what we discussed this morning, ebola, and the early stages of infection, the rice is so low that it's not

until much later in the disease that you start having the virus in the saliva. >> you and i have talked about the fact that even though it is not airborne, it's on the drop list, and can you review what you mean by that? >> so droplets are much larger. ebola is not a respiratory virus and it's not affecting the lungs the way that respiratory secretions would have ebola in it. but you can have ebola in the saliva of later in the infection, so the fact that he was not vomiting, didn't have -- at the bowling alley or the subway car, and might have

been where he had a droplet exposure. >> again, doctor celine gounder, and we're awaiting two press conferences on ebola. one in brooklyn, new york, where bill de blasio is expected to is it speak momentarily, and also in bethesda, maryland where the clinic where nina pham is being treated, they're expected to old a press conference because she's ebola free and they're expected to release her now. i want to bring in erica, and you heard dr. gounder expel any notion that she's his fiance and has been hospitalized and do we know more about her risk

of getting the disease. >> his fiance, as well as his two friends are being quarantined. as far as their up gated condition, the last we heard is they're not showing any symptoms but you have to be cautious here, and from the mayor's news conference, an update on their condition, and where exactly they're being quarantined. and really getting more of an idea, especially with those friends. were those the friends who went bowling with him? obviously, he has direct contact with his fiance. and another thing that we know b. the cdc and it's team on the ground here, they have these so-called disease detectives, and really, their job is to go about the community and find out who else could have had direct contact with dr. spencer, so we were going to see if this pool of people being tracked, or watched or even potentially quarented is

goingoing to grow. >> take us back to the moment where dr. spencer alerted officials that he might have ebola, and how did first responders protect themselves? was he transported by ambulance? take us through what happened. >> this is something that mayor de blasio said. the moment, he was taking his temperature twice a day, and he hadn't been going to work at columbia hospital. is so as soon as he took his temperature on thursday morning, between 10:00 in the morning, and he realized that he had 100.3, not much of a fever, but he had to get in touch with doctors without borders, and they immediately

called the new york city health department. and boom, right then, the chain began, they sent their the mts to his apartment where they were wearing full protective gear. they were pigs and ready for this. and they went into his apartment and they sealed off his apartment. doctor spencer had already locked his door and gotten in the mode of self quarantine for himself. and then they got him into the ambulance. and that's another thing, these ambulances were prepared for an ebola patient. they rushed him to belleview. and they did not go through the emergency room. this is key for anyone who gets concerned, oh, gosh, belleview hospital, maybe i should go to the er if i have a problem. again, a lot of lessons learned from what happened in dallas. so they made sure to let us

know so we could tell the public, they did not go through the er, but instead went to a quarantine room through a private elevator. >> again, the representative from queens saying that the response has been outstanding. eric a. thank you very much. and we're still waiting for two press conferences to begin. this is live in brooklyn, new york, mayor bill de blasio will hopefully clarify some of the details surrounding this latest case of ebola that has been diagnosed in the united states in new york city. and again, we're also waiting for a press conference in bethesda, maryland. this is an elite clinic which was treating nina pham. and she has been declared ebola free. there are going to be big names at that press conference,

including infectious disease expert. we'll be right back.

>> welcome back. we have dueling news conference that's we're awaiting. first in brooklyn, where new york city mayor, de blasio, is expected to update us on the condition of an ebola patient yesterday in new york, and also, in bethesda, maryland, where the nih is expected to speak momentarily about nina pham, the nurse that they're announcing azib ebb free and could be released today. and there's also a hearing going on on capitol hill, the house oversight committee, looking into the u.s. response to ebola, getting into accountability questions, and that's why i want to bring in our washington correspondent, libby casey. you've been listening in on this hearing, and i understand

that there's stuff coming out about the u.s. military response for ebola. >> many questions about just how safe u.s. troops are serving in liberia and other countries. to give us a scale, there may be as many as 4,000 troops who stand up in west africa over the next week, so we're talking about a sizeable force. we have insight from major general james laviery, in charge of the political affairs in west africa. so he took us through what a day in the soldier would be like, the question of how exposed are they to ebola and how much danger do they find themselves? he described the routine, they get up and one of the things that happens s. they get their temperature taken, to make sure that they are not seeing any spike in their temperature. and then as they go throughout the day, they are only eating food from approved sources and

only drinking bottled water, and they have a very established route they take. they go right from where they're eating and doing their basic mess hall stuff to where they're working. no detours, no sightseeing, and this is a deliberate course. when they wash their hands, which they do repeatedly throughout the day, they do so with a quarterrine solution, and they have to stay three seats away from any locals, if they have conversations, and there's a strict non-touch policy when working with liberiaians and west africans, and at the end of the day, we come back and do another temperature check. their mission is not to do direct treatment of patients, but to set up the hospitals and infrastructure and small ur areas with beds and treatment facilities, and also, there's a component of helping to educate more of the medical staff

there. working with the doctors and nurses to make sure they know what to do and keep themselves safe, and how to best do treatment. we're looking at a price tag of possibly $750 million over the next six months, stephanie. >> libby, some of these troops are already over there, i believe several hundred of them are over there, and do you know what type of training they receive? you very adequately described staying three feet away from patients and all of that, but are they being trained for several hours before they get into the area of operation? >> that's a good question. i don't have a lot of detail on that yet. but there's a strict protocol that's supposed to be followed. the reality is that a lot of the soldiers have been battle tested in a lot of the hot zones around the world so there's a plan to stay safe

around overseas. there's a special commanding set up in monrovia, liberia's capital. and the question is if the soldiers will be mixing with populations, the military will be pretty strict will how controlled some of the movement is. and that's an important thing, because as we're hearing in testimony today. and as we have heard from medical professionals, that proximity is the exchange of being around someone very sick and contagious, that's the real problem, but you raised a great question that members of congress are pursuing as well. just how strict are they getting and how strict are the protocols in place? they are making sure that they're uniform and simple and there are basic guidelines to follow. >> libby casey for us in washington and i want to bring in again dr. celine gounder. we're following self developments right now, one of

them being a positive development. the dallas nurse, the first that contracted ebola, was caring for thomas duncan, and nina pham has tested for ebola and is now ebola free. and i want to go live right now to bethesda, maryland and i think that's nina pham on the right side of dr. fauci, walking out on her own two feet, no haz-mat suit. and let's listen in. >> good morning, everyone. i'm francis collins, the director of the national institutes for health. and it's my privilege and pleasure to welcome you into the life of this remarkable institution. nih. and you have noticed the guest

of honor. the most [ inaudible ] way to contain the spread of ebola. and also [ inaudible ] so >> remarkably dedicated workers, and physicians. among the physicians we have several doctors. i guess i have got you. the director of the clinical center, all of whom have been involved directly in the care of this patient. i think hope just went up a notch today by the fact that we are all here to celebrate the recovery of a patient --

i have some very good and happy news to inform you of right now. our patient nina pham is free of ebola virus. we know that because we have multiple determinations of her pcr. she has no virus in her. she feels well. as you will see in a moment and probably have already seen, she looks extraordinarily well. i want to first tell you what a great pleasure and in many respects a privilege it has been for me and the staff here o the clinical studies unit here at nih to have the opportunity to treat and care for and get to

know such an extraordinarily courageous and lovely person. she has an individual is extraordinary, but she also represents the nurses and healthcare workers that put themselves on the line. i'm going to introduce and bring her here, but before i do, i want to have a shoutout to a few individuals. first thank you very much to the doctors and nurses of texas presbyterian who took such good care of her before they sent her to us. i also want to have a recognition for the extraordinary doctors and nurses who did an extraordinary job of taking care of nina. and nina is very sensitive about

the role of nurses. so as a tribute to her, i'm wearing the colors of her nursing school, texas christian. so we should have a shout out to texas christian for training such an extraordinary individual. [ applause ] >> so what we will do, is i will have nina come out. she will read a statement. she will not answer any questions. after that i will come and answer a few questions for you, and then we'll get nina to go back home to texas to resume a normal, healthy and happy life. nina. [ cheers and applause ] >> good afternoon. i feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today. i would first and foremost like

to thank god, my family and friends. throughout this ordeal i put my trust in god and my medical team. i amen my way back to recovery. of course i have so incredibly thankful for everyone involved in my care, from the moment i became ill up to today, my discharge there the clinical research center of nih. i would especially like to thank dr. kent bradley for donating plasma to me. as a nurse i have a special appreciation for the care i received from so many people. not just doctors and nurses, but the entire support team. i believe in the power of prayer, because i know so many people all over the world have been praying for me.

i don't know how i can ever thank everyone enough for their prayers, expressions of love. i join you all now in praying for our friend. i hope everyone understands that this whole illness been very challenges for me and my family. i know it may be a while before i have my strength back, so with gratitude and respect, i can for my privacy and my family's privacy to be respected a i return to texas and try to get back to a normal life and reunite with my dog bentley. [ laughter ] >> thank you, everyone. [ applause ] >> thank you very much, nina. before i open it up for questions, i want