As Ebola hits, New Yorkers maintain wary calm
By Edward McAllister NEW YORK (Reuters) - News of New York's first case of Ebola was met with worry and even anger on Friday, but for this city of eight million residents, seasoned by everything from terror attacks to superstorms, there was little sign of panic. Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, was moved with elaborate precautions from his Harlem apartment to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a fever and tested positive for Ebola on Thursday, sparking concern about the spread of the disease in the country's most populous city. Despite reassurances from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo that it was perfectly safe to use the city's vast subway system, New Yorkers riding the trains were uneasy on Friday. Spencer had ridden the subway, eaten out, taken a cab and gone bowling in Brooklyn since returning from Guinea a week ago but before showing symptoms. "I am worried. It feels as if doctors' arrogance has put us all in danger. Why wouldn't you make sure it was safe before you started running round the city," said Amelia Fowler, 38, an actor waiting at a bus stop in Brooklyn on Friday. After taking his own temperature twice a day since his return, Spencer reported running a fever and experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms for the first time early on Thursday. He was not feeling sick and would not have been contagious before Thursday morning, the city's Health Commissioner Mary Travis Bassett said. The Gutter, the bowling alley he visited this week, was given the all clear from health inspectors on Friday. "There is no risk of Ebola here," Don Weiss, a health department doctor, told reporters after his inspection. Todd Powers, the alley's owner, said he planned to bring in a cleaning crew. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams visited The Gutter on Friday, and said he planned to return later for a game. Officials also gave the all clear to The Blue Bottle Coffee shop and were assessing The Meatball Shop, both places that Spencer visited in Manhattan. The driver of the Uber ride-sharing taxi Spencer took was not considered to be at risk, and officials insisted the three subway lines he rode before falling ill remained safe. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it had not removed any trains from service but had updated some of its health protocols including issuing gloves and disinfectant to deal with any potentially infectious waste. Seeking to reassure New Yorkers, De Blasio rode the subway Friday morning, chatting with passengers. Still, many expressed worry and frustration on their way to work, fretting about using a mass transit system that for many is the only form of daily transport. "I ride the train to work - I have to," said Ruth Bowtle, 48, a paralegal from Staten Island. "But I am trying not to hold onto the hand rail. You try not to breathe." Some medical supply stores, including Chelsea Mobility and Medical Equipment in Manhattan, were stocking up on masks, thermometers and hand sanitizers in anticipation of a run on the goods by the public, similar to the response seen during the bird flu epidemic in 2009. Heightened security was in place at Bellevue Hospital where Spencer was being treated, with police officers and metal gates keeping a large crowd of reporters and television crews at bay. Some patients and visiting relatives brushed off the idea of Spencer representing a threat. Teresa Jurado, however, said she dreaded going inside the hospital where she had an appointment to treat a chronic stomach illness. "I'm in a state of psychosis," the retired 80-year-old Queens resident said. "For one person, we're all going to fall sick." But for all the bluster, many New Yorkers went about their business on Friday, largely unfazed. The major subway stations were busy. Commuters clutching newspapers declaring Ebola's arrival piled onto packed subway trains and buses, much like any other morning. The U.S. stock market rose on Friday, recovering the losses suffered on news on Thursday afternoon that Spencer had been taken to hospital, as strong earnings outweighed any fear of the virus spreading. Some residents said they were far more concerned about flu than Ebola. Others displayed total indifference. "There is not really a chance of it spreading," said Omar Abdul, 58, a taxi driver slouched in his cab in Park Slope, Brooklyn. "It is not like everyone who gets into my cab has come from Africa." (Additional reporting by Sebastien Malo, Barbara Goldberg, Luc Cohen, Ellen Wulfhorst, Natasja Sheriff, Laila Kearney and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Martin Howell)
