As Westchester has scare, governor assures New York has protocols for Ebola

BY JANIE ROSMAN

An Ebola scare hit Westchester County Wednesday.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said during a news conference Wednesday morning that a person is in the observation stage at a Westchester hospital, and had recently come into contact with someone from Liberia. Later in the day the county announced that the person did not have Ebola.

Governor Cuomo was in Westchester on Monday to welcome a giant crane to the TZ Bridge project. Ask by a reporter if he’s worried about the virus, and if he’s thinking about travelers with the virus coming to New York City and New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo replied, “I’m not worried. Is it something we’ve been preparing for? Yes. Have we developed state protocols? Yes. Are we working with hospitals so we have a standard and uniform protocol? Yes.”

Cuomo continued, “This is nothing to trifle with, and (in) New York, we are especially susceptible just because of who we are. We have airports, (and) we have people from all over the world coming to our airports every day. Turn on the news, you see what’s happening in Texas, you see what’s happening at numerous airports, so of course this is something we have to be aware of. We are aware of it, and we are preparing ourselves. But worry, I would say no.”

There have been 11 cases for concern about Ebola in the state, and none of the persons tested had Ebola.

More on Rockland County’s Ebola strategy tomorrow in the Rockland County Times and www.rocklandtimes.com.