act of kindness he paid the ultimate price. it's wednesday, october 8th and that is "now.." >> now is the sometime for action. >> the first patient to be diagnosed with ebola in the united states has died. >> this is a critical moment. >> a lot of questions about who dropped the ball. >> the body of someone who just died of ebola is especially infektious. >> ebola is a urgent global crisis. >> everyone who has been to west africa will get a questionnaire. >> there have only been six people treat in this country for ebola ever. >> we're learning a lot about this disease. >> i heard a doctor say to me we're in a brave new world here. >> we need people to step up now. >> this is a very deadly virus.

>> now is the time for action. not words. >> at this moment we're waiting a press conference from the cdc following the news that thomas duncan died this morning. his dobody will be cremated. he was given antibiotics and released. that decision has been widely criticized and left many questioning the system to handle the outbreak. the next few days be pivotal how the virus spreads. 48 people had direct or indirect contact with him. so far none of the 48 have shown

any signs of the virus. but his death comes amidst heightened concerns from travellers from certain west african nations. there will be additional screening measures at five of the nation's largest airports. the white house officials this afternoon are urging calm. >> because of our infrastructure in the united states we think a risk of the outbreak is extremely low. our security professional determined there are additional steps we can take to further strengthen the safety of the american public without causing a disruption to the broader traveling public. >> sarah, thanks for joining me. let's talk about how the family is handling this. we know thomas duncan's girlfriend issued a statement

earlier today and there seems to be, reasonably so, a real hint of frustration, maybe even a suggestion that some folks didn't do what they should have done in terms of preventing his death. >> there is a lot of scrutiny for the decision to initially release him even though duncan reportedly did tell him he was traveling from west africa. he was engaged to a woman. the pastor of her church just spoke to the media. she and the other young boys in quarantine over come with emotion and fear now that they have seen the devastating effects the disease could have. they are expressing what ifs.

obviously hinting if what if the hospital had taken him earlier. or if a different treatment had been given. pastor saying this is normal in the grieving process. she's not really making accusations. the hospital has never commented on the fact they released him early despite our repeated requests. also didn't answer why he didn't receive a blood transfusion. >> the cdc press conference is about to begin. let's take a listen. ifs. >> let's wait for the microphone so we can hear that question. our first speaker is cdc director tom frieden. >> thank you very much and good afternoon. today we're deeply saddened by the death of the patient in dallas despite maximum interventions, we learned today that he passed away.

and our thoughts go out to his family, and friends. he is a face that we associate now with ebola. since the start of the epidemic, 3,742 patients in west africa have been documented to have died from the disease. we don't have their faces as prominently in front of us and we know even more people have been effected. so we think about this and we remember what a deadly enemy ebola is and how important it is we take every step possible to both protect americans and stop the outbreak at its source, in africa. one of the things we do to protect americans here in the united states so to improve our preparedness in our health care system. the three key steps, are first thinking of the possibility of ebola and identifying who may

have the disease. so that second they could be rapidly tested. and third effectively isolated. that's crucial for our response. and identification, diagnosis, and safe care of anyone who may have ebola needs to be top of mind right now for health care providers throughout the country. at cdc we do quite a bit to support health care workers in addressing and assessing patients. we provided detailed information that should be available to every front line worker about how to address a patient who may have ebola. anyone with fever should be asked if they have been in west africa, specific guinea, sera

leon or west africa. and if so, they need to be tested. we have done webinars, reached out to hospitals, medical associations and many others, so that we can ensure that the available information is up-to-date and useful. right now, the bottom line of what we're talking about today is that we're stepping up protection for people coming into this country and for americans related to travel. we will continuously look at ways to increase the safety of americans. we do that at many different levels. we do that in dallas where officials there are working intensively to monitor every person who might have had contact with the index patient to ensure if they do develop fever they are immediately

isolated and the chain of transmission can be broken. we do that in the health care system so that patients will be rapidly diagnoses and if found have ebola rapidly and effectively isolated. we do that at the source, understanding that until this outbreak is over in west africa, whatever we do can't get the risk to zero here in the interconnected world we live in today. and we do that through entry and travel programs including the efforts we under take in west africa and some that will be described in more detail later in this briefing. i think before turning it over to deputy secretary from the department of homeland security, i would like to emphasize the basic principals we use when looking at interventions. we continuously evaluate ways to

better protect americans. protecting americans is our number one priority. second, we make sure whatever we do is something that works, that we evaluate, and that we can think of ways to continuously improve. third, we recognize that whatever we do until the outbreak is over in west africa, we can't get the risk to zeer toe in this country. that's why we continue to surge the cdc response in west africa and it backs the international response where we are seeing hundreds of health care workers, hundreds and millions of dollars deployed in the three countries most heavily infected. and finally , above all, do no harm. we have insure whatever we do doesn't unintentionally increase the risk that we will be at risk. just to remind us of what happened a decade ago in the

sars outbreak that cost the world more than $40 billion, it wasn't to control the outbreak, that was from cost from unnecessary and ineffective travel restrictions and trade change that's could have been avoided. what we want to do is ensure we don't under mind our ability to stop pt outbreak and unintentionally increase our risk here. so to outline some of the new measures being taken and review some of the measures already being taken i will turn it over to deputy secretary. >> thank you very much dr. frieden. the department of homeland security is taking steps to ensure that passengers with communicable diseases like ebola are screened, isolated, and quickly and safely referred to medical personnel. we have implemented a range of

measures to ensure a layered approach. to date, the existing measures in place include issuing "do not board" orders to airlines if cdc and the department of state determine a passenger is a risk to the traveling public. two, providing information and guidance about ebola to the airlines. three, posting notices at airports to raise awareness about ebola. and fourth, providing a health notice commonly referred to as a tear sheet to travellers entering the united states that have travelled from or transited through the effected countries. with information and instructions should there be concern of possible infection. we are announcing -- we have

announced today -- enhanced measures. specifically the enhanced screening will consist of targeted questions, temperature checks and contact information of travellers from the three affected countrientering the united states at five airports, jfk, new aark, chicago oh, hair and atlanta. by way of back ground the cdc officers observe all passenger for signs of illnesses through visual observation and questioning as appropriate. in addition all travellers arriving from liberia, sierra

lee leone and guinea will answer questions about whether they have had contact with ebola patients. we will collect additional u.s. based contact information should cdc need to contact them. and finally, we will take their temperature with a non-contact thermometer which could be a key indicator of potential infection. we are taking these additional measures in a dynamic environment to ensure a layered approach and that we take the security measures that we assess to be needed right now. with that, dr. frieden, i will turn it back. >> thank you. and before opening for questions, i will just recap that starting at jfk on saturday, and at the four other airports that were mentioned in

the follow week, newark, chicago, atlanta -- representing all of the 150 travellers per day who arrive from these three countries. the department of homeland security, cdc, will be implementing a new detailed questionnaire as well as temperature-taking and providing information to each traveller. if any travellers are found to either have a fever or have a history of contact with ebola then the onsite centers for disease control and prevention public health officer will further interview and assess that individual and take addition ale action as appropriate. i want to emphasize this will

find people with fever or contact who don't have ebola. in fact we over the past couple months, about one out of every 500 travellers boarding a plane in west africa had a fever, none of whom had been diagnosed with ebola. so we expect to see some patients with fever and that will cause obvious and understandable concern at the airports. i would like to spend a minute just talking about malaria because it is so important to understand how it is relevant here. it is spread by mosquitos. you can't get it from someone else. and malaria is a disease in west africa is extremely common. it's also a disease which traditionally has been known in health care has a fever that comes and goes.

it may come and then go away in cycles of every two or three days. the malaria in this part of the world comes back every two or three days. so it wouldn't be surprising if we see individuals with malaria with a fever coming back here. this is why incidentally we strongly encourage americans the traveling to areas of the world that have malaria take preventive medications which are highly preventive as preventing mal arari malaria. we will assess the individual. we will facilitate that. or send them to the local health

care system to take appropriate action to at a minimum ensure their temperature is taken every day for 21 days after the last exposure. so45 d what we are doing is stepping up protection. we will evaluate measures. starting at jfk. over the coming weeks we will evaluate this experience. we're always looking for ways to better protect americans. thank you. we will start with questions in the room. just wait for the mic. >> dr. frieden there are critics saying even with these enhanced efforts that people will fall through the seams, that it won't be enough. will these efforts be enough to protect the country from ebola. >> what we're doing is put in additional protection. we've been very clear as long as ebola continues to spread in

africa we can't make the risk zero here. we wish we could. i understand there's been calls to ban all travel to west africa, the problem to that approach is it makes it extremely difficult to respond to the outbreak. makes it hard to get health workers in because they can't get out. if we make it harder to respond to the outbreak in west africa it will spread to other parts of africa and ultimately increase the risk here. that's why the concept of above all doing no harm is so important here. next question in the room. >> hi i'm wondering what other times such screening might have been conducted at airports and if so how effective is this at finding sick people. >> we've looked at different screening methods at different times. the thermometers that are used are highly effective.

they are fda approved. they don't require touching the patient. and they give a reliable result. next question in the room. >> new york times, what's the legal authority the federal government has to hold american citizens if they need to be quarantine for something. and also some experts say it is like looking for a needle in a hey stack and really the effect of what is happening today is to calm the public panic, that the risk, the actual usefulness of catching someone with it is low, but the real effect is to calm people down basically. >> i will make a couple many points and turn it over. the first point, the number of travellers is relatively small. 150 per day. so it's not an effort that would be particularly disruptive to

large numbers of people. we think it's manageable. and in terms of the legal authorities, both within the public health and within the border efforts, there are legal authorities. in public health most fundamentally there's a right to protect the public, we can isolate individual who's may be a risk to the public. >> thank you dr. frieden. i would amplify that response. indeed, in our screening we have the authority to take measures with respect to u.s. citizens as well as non-citizens to ensure that the public safety or security is not threatened. that is in the public health arena just as it is in the national security arena. thank you. >> and we'll go to the phone for the next question. take a few from the phone and come back to the room.

>> first question from cbc news. >> hey tom, here's my question, the cdc has said really all we need is face masks, gallons and gloves to be adequately protected but then you see big hazmat suits. i wonder if these suits are increasing the risk of contamination because in taking them off someone could potentially get contaminated. >> thank you. there is definitely a balance here. the more cumbersome the question is, the greater the possibility there will be a problem. for skp many in west africa we have seen clean needles but potentially contaminated gloves, it's difficult to work in more

cumbersome personal protective equipment that's why we are looking at as many practical approaches that will still be safe. we recognize that there's understandable concern with the infection in spain. with the infections in west africa to make sure that our health care workers are safe. that's why cdc has infection control experts who work intensively with any facility that is concerned about or has a patient with ebola. next question on the phone. >> next question from fox news. >> thank you for taking my call. my question, doctor, you may have explained this previously, explain to us whether thomas duncan was eligible to receive blood plasma from dr. brantley. >> so specific questions about the care of the patient who died in dallas would have to be referred to the hospital there. i would just remind us that ebola, even with the best of

treatment, is a terrible disease. and is fatal in a high proportion of cases. and we encourage rapid and early diagnosis because the early someone is diagnosed, the more likely they will be to survive. in the room. >> 11 news in atlanta. what information can you tell us about a possible second ebola patient in texas. do you know if this person was in contact with mr. duncan, was he one of the people were watching? was he recently in west africa. >> my understanding, this is recent information, we will get more definite information in the next few hours, it was someone who is being assessed with either definite contact.

people will be assessed. that's as it should be. we should keep it in perspective. right now there's only one patient who has ever been diagnosed with tb -- sorry with ebola, in the u.s. and that individual tragically died today. we are tracing the other 48 people who had possible contact, none of them as of today have fever or symptoms suggestive of ebola. we are not out of that 21 day waiting period. we're at the peak incident period of 8 to 10 days. so it is certainly a time we're anxious and carefully assessing. [ inaudible question ]. >> we would have to get back to you on that. my understanding is that he had neither definite contact nor definite symptoms suggestive of ebola. next in the room.

>> hi with the los angeles times. given the demand for man power and supplies in west africa, are there critical resources being diverted or screening process that could be better utilized on the ground or else where. >> the screening program here is not diverting from or in anyway under mining our efforts in west africa. temperatures will be taken. cdc also does staff quarantine stations. we will need a small number of staff at these 25 airports, it will in no way make it difficult for us to stop the outbreak in africa. in the room. >> earlier you talked about the added level of screening, including checking temperatures but if the symptoms don't show up potentially for 21 days, how

does that help? >> we're looking at every layer that could be put in and assessing different possibilities for what could be done. one of the issues quite important is the information provided to travellers who arrive in this country, that is provided in west africa and here through the entry station to individuals entering here. that is an area we will look at closely in the coming days. next question in the room. >> could you describe where the decision to do this additional screening at airports came from? did it originate in homeland security or cdc or in the white house first. i ask because i know you were critical of taking this step a week ago and second, can you tell us a little bit more about the quarantine facilities. will they be at each of these airports? will the staffers testing temperatures and asking these

questions will they be wearing protective gear? >> i'll start and ask deputy secretary to continue. i have said consistently we will do whatever is effective to protect americans. this is a whole of government response in africa and a whole of government response here. and we look carefully to see what we can do and what we can do most effectively to protect americans. deputy secretary. >> i would echo. thank you doctor. i would echo dr. frieden's remark. this has been a collective effort across the administration to respond to this outbreak of ebola in west africa. the individual customs and border protection officers will not be wearing masks. that has been the medical assessment of the need right now. thank you.

[ inaudible question ]. >> yes, there are irnt quarantine stations at each of the airports. >> can you speak to a second for the state of the international response. what is the resource situation there. what needs to stop the outbreak there that isn't happening already? >> we're seeing surging of resources into the country. into each of the three countries. now cdc is now surging out to the counties and districts in the countries. these are three ufrnt countries with three different epidemics. liberia has had most extensive epidemics so far. in serre leone we are seeing increases and new guinea we are

seeing increases. we are monitoring that greatly. we are seeing great response from the world health organization and other countries are stepping up including the united kingdom. if you look at our efforts to do lab work, cdc operates several of the labs in this countries, but in addition, united kingdom, south africa, russia, china, canada, the european union, and i'm probably leaving out a few, also do laboratory work, so there has been a strong international response. the challenge is how rapidly the disease is spreading. but we are seeing in west africa some signs of progress. for example more safe burials. we're working closely with communities to do that and to increase isolation and treatment capacity.

so i think we're beginning to see that kind of surge response have an impact on the front lines but it's going to be a long hard fight. and in west africa we're far from being out of the woods [ inaudible question ]. >> there has been a major effort from the u.s. and other partners. we hope and expect to see more resources coming in from countries around the world matching the kind of leadership that the u.s. is showing. flight t right now the biggest challenge is getting resources to the front lines where they are most needed. we'll go to the phones. >> from the associated press. >> thank you very much. wanted to ask about the situation in dallas. you said the person does not have contact with ebola or definite s

definite t definite symptoms. did this person have possible contact. >> since it is a emergency situation i would have to refer you to dallas. often in situations like this information may change from minute to minute but i will reiterate what i said earlier we don't have a concern for symptoms or for definite contact as far as everything i have learned up to a few minutes ago. >> thank you. >> next question on the phone. >> next question from telemundo network. >> hi, my question is more regarding air travel and the new procedures for the five different airports. is there a special procedure or any guidance given to the airlines when thinking about cleaning an aircraft, is that a necessary procaution to take and if so can you explain what the airlines should be doing in that regard. >> cdc has detailed guidelines

and works very closely with the airline industry. there are guidelines if there were a patient who potentially had ebola for enhanced cleaning of the airplane. in the room. let's go to people who haven't yet asked questions. >> you noted that earlier diagnosis increases the chance of survival so given the delay in the diagnose of the dallas patient did that contribute to his death. and also is it is still ambiguous what the communication figure was at that hospital so how can americans be confident other hospitals will not make the same mistake. >> i can't comment on what might have happened on an individual patient but one of the things we're promoting now is ensuring doctors, nurses, health care workers throughout the held alt

care system think ebola. and ask whether anyone with fever has been in west africa in the past 21 days. that's important. that will ensure that if another patient arrives they are rapidly identified for their own sake and for the community's safety. >> following up on that question. we have heard a little bit about this person in texas. just to reiterate are all 48 people being monitored. if this person was not one of them, they would not be getting one of those checks is that fair to say. >> in texas very intepsive work has gone on to identify everyone who appears to have had definite contact with the index patient and everyone who might have had contact with the index patient.

that identified ten people with definite contact and 38 in whom contact could not be ruled out. for those 48 people every one of them have been monitored every day from someone in the public health system measuring their temperature. none of them have had symptoms or fevers. at the therehave been rumors of other contacts or other cases none of those have panned out. i understand there's a situation now bag cessationed. i understand there's a situation now being assessed. the situation we have now no definite contact. no definite symptoms. >> two questions. duncan didn't have a fever when he was questioned and he lied about his contact, so would the screening process be effective in catching him. and also could you talk about

what cost $4 billion in the sars epidemic and what we are doing to stop needless work today. >> we think he didn't have a fever when he arrived. he became sick four days after arrival. these additional questions may have identified him as a contact interviewed by cdc, customs and border protection after arrival in the u.s. we're looking at every step that can be taken to increase the likelihood that if someone arrives and develops ebola they will be rapidly diagnosed and isolated. in terms of the cost of sars, many of those costs were related 20 peop to people cancelling travel. or trade that didn't occur. there are so many misconceptions about ebola that they are seeing a reduction in investments in

parts of africa that are in no way shape or form in the ebola outbreak. so we are concerned if we don't ensure to focus on what works and do that well we may have that same unnecessary and counter productive cost here. from the phone. >> next call from huffington post. >> hi, i wanted to ask a question about the difference in care between thomas duncan and kent brantley but i think you have already addressed you are referring all those questions to hospitals. is that correct. >> yes. i would just comment each patient situation is different. unfortunately, z map, which is a promisin promising, but unproven experimental treatment for ebola is not available. there is no more of it in the world. while people are working hard to manufacturer more it takes a long time to develop. other medications it is up to

the treating physicians and the family whether or not to use. so that's all i would have to say at this point. next question on the phone. >> next question is from wall street journal. >> hello. are these announced machineasure extent of the new screening calls or are there further screenings for those travellers or other ports offent nry here in the u.s. >> first off screening of outbound travellers are already under way. has been for some time. every person leaving has their temperature taken with an fda-approved device. every person leaving is monitored for fever and over the last two months we've identified 74 with fever and 3 others with symptoms that resulted in them not boreding the plane. so outbound travel is being monitored now. we're always looking at all of

the programs that we're implementing to see how they can be better or more effective. one of the things we will look at in the coming days how this pilot program goes at jfk and rolling it out to the other four airports. and think about what else can be done to increase the safety of the american people. >> okay. just to follow up. you mentioned maybe strengthening those outbound is screenings. one other quick follow up, how will passengers to be screened be identified. particularly if a travellers original flight out of west africa is a separate booking from the u.s. bound flight it won't show up on the iet in rary data provided to the cdc. >> if i could add something in response to the immediately preceding question, that we are working very closely together

across the administration and we will continue to assess the risk to protect the american people. we are continually assessing the situation and taking the measures we diem necessary. we have in our screening capabilities, we have the ability to identify individuals travel not only with respect to the last point of departure but the point of origin, so we can in fact identify the full journey of the individual arr e arriving in the united states. thank you doctor. >> in the room. >> wstv.

my question to you is the goal has always been to stop the outbreak at the source. we're seeing that that is not the case any more. ebola was identified originally decades ago. what can you tell us, is this a new day for the u.s. is ebola here in essence as one of our viruses and diseases that we need to keep an eye on? >> we have stopped every ebola outbreak until this one. this is an unprecedented outbreak in west africa. we're surging the response with a whole of government approach from the u.s. and the global community. it is going to be a long, hard fight but we remain convinced that we can contain the outbreak in west aafrica. if we fail to do that then it will be a very different situation because it could spread to other parts of africa and be a longer term risk to us here now. as of today the only patients with ebola in the u.s. are in

hospitals. the only risk is among people who have returned in the last 21 days. it is important to put in to perspective what the risks are. ebola is scary. it's a deadly disease and we know how to stop it. we are stopping it in west africa community by community. dallas is doing an excellent job of tracing it and contacting it there. and health care workers throughout the u.s. need to think ebola. two more questions and then we're going to stop. >> nbc news. earlier today, cdc sent out strict guidelines for the handling of human remains of ebola patient es can you descri that more. >> yes as in africa we are concerned with handling individual who's have passed away from ebola is a very high

risk procedure. the way ebola works, if you are exposed but not sick, you have no ability to pass it on to others. as you begin to get sick and have a fever you may be able to pass it on. the sicker you get, the higher the amount of virus in your body. when someone dies from it there are large quantities of the virus in their bodies. so we have worked closely with authorities to ensure respectfully for the family to view the body of the patient, his human remains will be safely remove and safely handled so that they will not present a risk to anyone in the family, to anyone in the health care system or to anyone who is prarpti participating in the process of burial. we have one last question. >> cbs 46 in atlanta.

we already know about matthew write bowl and kent brantly. there was another patient that was brought here about a month ago. what happened to that patient. >> we don't reveal individual patient, we provide consultation from cdc on every single patient we find and every single patient who might have ebola so that we can provide that expert consultation and ensure that they get the care that's available here. so just in wrapping up i'd like to thank all of you for your interest. i'd like to remind us of the tragedy of ebola for the patients family in dallas and for the thousands of families throughout west africa that have been dealing with this terrible disease for the past six months. i would also like to thank the department of homeland security for their partnership in this and for customs and border

protection and the commissioner there with whom we work very closely and have a very productive relationship and remind us that the bottom line here is we are stepping up our efforts to protect americans that we will always look at what works and continuously evaluate and consider what we can do to keep americans safe understanding as long as ebola is spreading in west africa it will remain a risk at here and we will do everything we can to both stop the source and protect americans here. thank you very much. >> that was a press conference at cdc where officials address the death of thomas duncan and new safety measures designed to prevent the spread of the ebola virus. joining us now, three experts. let me start with you doctor, in terms of these travel enhanced

safety measures being taken at u.s. airports, dr. frieden was asked directly about how effective they will be and i felt like he didn't fully answer the question. he basically said the thermometer said work really well, i'm paraphrasing. are these enhanced travel screenings going to do anything. >> it is a step in the right direction to ease public concerns. in addition they are giving a lot of written materials to the passengers that could be helpful in case they develop symptoms later. but i have concerns about the quarantine, are they the same as in the hospital. ebola is difficult to spread. you have to spread it through bodily fluids. but there's other things like the flu that could be spread by touching door knobs or phones and stuff. so i have concerns about patient

who's have fevers and being put in these quarantine centers and perhaps catching other diseases while they are there. >> as the press conference was going on we talk about enhanced security and procedures whether it is liquid capacity or head thermometer when you arrive in the us from other places including west africa and whether they are important, not browse they make us safer but because we feel safer. what's your thinking on it? >> this is the security theater question. this comes up all the time with tsa. ho how much of what we're doing at the airport is to stop terrorism. i would say based on my somewhat limited knowledge of the current ebola situation that yes, obviously you might catch people in these screenings, but as we were talking before, i came back from liberia with malaria and people have fevers and people

show all kinds of symptoms and then people don't show symptoms, obviously it is not 100%. good point about the quality of these isolation areas in airports. i think a bigger part than the cdc wants to admit is about making people feel like they are doing something. it is very, very unlikely that anyone in america will get ebola. it is still an unlikely possibility but they feel it is becoming more of a -- they are trying to calm people down. >> yes theater has ramped things up. >> mia, to jeffrey's point, the new poll says 22% of americans are worried about getting ebola. do you think duncan's death represents an inflection point in an political analysis that this sort of changes our sense

of being vulnerable. i think conventional wisdom was, if you come to the united states you'll be okay. but here with duncan that proves that's not the case. >> that poll suggests 75% of americans aren't that concerned about ebola, whether or not this will be a tipping point if in terms of how americans feel is yet to be seen. >> i hate to interrupt you. there's another press conference happening in frisco, texas with a patient who may or may not have been infected with thomas duncan. >> may not have contact with the patient. after transport, our paramedics are currently being decontaminated at texas health resources in dallas. we also have members from the denton county health department,

and in consultation with the centers for disease control, they are advising on the proper procedures. for our medics. at this time i would like to introduce our mayor for comment. >> thank you chief. i will keep my comments very short. as you are all aware, you have most of the information we have currently. while we're being told the risk is minimal, we are taking several actions to make sure the public health and health andwe e it. again we're being told by the agencies we're in contact with, both the local, county, state and federal health agencies, that the risk is minimal but we are taking all prekaukcautions. we will take some precautions.

[ inaudible question ]. >> as the mayor said earlier, a lot of this information is coming in quickly. we are just about three hours close to call. again it was based on the screening criteria from the cdc. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> no we don't have that nxgs information. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i do not. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> that's also information that we don't have right now. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> it's a sign that cdc put out which is headaches, vomiting, the patient wasn't experiencing all the symptoms, just a few but again, based on the screening

criteria from the cdc, the treatment tends to be more conservative at first. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> that's certainly a call the patient ehas to make. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> again, we really don't have that information. it's our understanding that the person was in the apartment and had contact with family members from the dallas station that's all we know. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> we have conthe scene, we have public health officials from the denton county health department, as well as cal in county and they've been in contact with cdc. based on the nature and their opinion of the patient all of the hospital staff, doctors and several nurses, have been

relieved. they refused treatment. they have been relieved by the department of public health and it is our understanding that care now is now open. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> well, think the fire department always has to be prepared for any type of emergency. we train for all hazards. the firefighters are prepared whether it is this type of call or whatever call will come in next. they are used to dealing with unexpected. and the expected. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> well i think there's always a heightened aware ps. heightened awareness. but they come here to do their job. they take their job seriously. i believe there's a heightened awareness, obviously, but we do a lot of calls that are high

risk. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> well, i'd like to leave that to the medical professionals. we're on the response end of it. we'll let the public officials and physicians make that determination. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> it's our understanding it is a 48-hour time frame at this time. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> the patient is currently at texas health resources in dallas. i do not know the residency of the patient nor their occupation. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> right now again, our medical physician is on the scene at the hospital. we have calls in to the center for disease control. we're also working with public health officials here in denton county.

we will get the recommendations on the proper decontamination procedures from the ambulance. i would like to mention, and i understand the nature of ebola, but we deal with a lot of patient epts with infectious diseases. it's nothing new. we have different cleansers and things that kill a lot of germs. we are used to decontaminating these units but we're going to wait to get the recommendations. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i can't speak to what he was concerned about. i know that the hospital staff felt that he met the preliminary guidelines from the cdc and that's why they called. >> right now our estimate is we're dealing with 14 people, including the physicians and

nursing staff as well as the people that were in the lobby and some of the oranther patien that were in some of the other rooms for treatment. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> it's our preliminary understanding they are not part of the 48 that are under surveillance. that's according to our health department. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> our health department has told us this patient is not one of the 48 persons that's under public health surveillance for the dallas patient. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i do not know. but that's something else. the patient obviously aside from the treatment, public health officials are interviewing the patient in the event this may turn out to be something else. again they are treating this like a low risk event. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> well, i can understand it.

there's a lot of attention that surrounds the ebola cases in dallas and any time we have a call that comes out as a possible exposure i can understand the concern. but rest assured frisco fire department is doing everything we can. we've been preparing for this weeks if not months. so this is something we train for. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> again, i don't know. i think dana mentioned earlier, you could imagine the speed of information that is moving out there. our main concern initially was the treatment of this patient, the patrons at "care now" and mostly our favorite that

transported that patient into dallas so that is information we do not know. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i cannot. i do not know. it's my understanding, again, it is family members he had contact with. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> it's my understanding he was inside the apartment. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> yeah, we're working with all public agencies. we've been in contact with denton county and colin county health department also regional management with the department of state of texas and all the associated agencies we need to contact. so both local and state resor

resources have been contacted about our event. we've been in cdc on the scene. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> well i'm not going to go too deep in the personal aspects but out of five or six symptoms he was minus a few that i think gave us reason to believe or maybe the health department reason to believe this was a lower level risk. i said he had several but not all five or six. he was exhibiting some. enough to trigger the prix limb nary screening. once you get in depth, then they are able to rule out some of the risk.

>> [ inaudible question ]. >> i would encourage anyone to call us any time they think they need us. if you think you're an at-risk patient call us and we're respond. that becomes an individual choice based on factors. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i do not. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i don't know if it was actual

position but they called us up and we were dispatched to them. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> well, i think it says that our health department and our city and all the governmental resources always act on the side of caution. i think that's always how we have to approach these cases. sometimes things turn out sometimes they don't but for us we can't afford to make mistakes so we have to progressicess all patients whether they have ebola or other infectious diseases to be on the safe side.