Ebola is expected to cost New York City "many millions" of dollars, the mayor's office said Tuesday.
The Office of Management and Budget is gathering the financial details to date and computing future expenditures as it works to develop a full accounting of the costs of Ebola preparation and treatment, according to Marti Adams, first deputy press secretary for Mayor de Blasio.
But the anticipation is that the costs "will be significant," Adams said. She added that the city would seek federal assistance.
Several sick patients have been taken to local hospitals over the last few weeks with fevers or flu-like symptoms, though not all have been tested for Ebola. A 5-year-old Bronx boy was tested for the deadly virus after falling ill Sunday night following a trip to West Africa, but authorities said Tuesday he had a respiratory infection and would be removed from an isolation room.
Ebola has early symptoms in common with diseases like malaria, salmonella, cholera and the flu, and though the chances of the average New Yorker contracting the virus are slim, health officials are conducting tests in select situations out of an abundance of caution to ensure no outbreak.
In the city, patients are only being tested for Ebola if they meet certain criteria, including recent travel history, symptom patterns and contacts.
Eight hospitals in the state are equipped to handle potential Ebola cases, Gov. Cuomo has said. Bellevue was designated as the city’s go-to medical center for possible cases and is where Craig Spencer, the first New Yorker diagnosed with the disease, is being treated. Spencer contracted the virus while on an Ebola assignment for Doctors Without Borders in Guinea.
Health officials said Spencer was showing signs of improvement Sunday, a day after entering the next phase of the illness: the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms. To combat his symptoms, the doctor received a plasma transfusion from the second American Ebola patient Nancy Writebol on Saturday, which he tolerated well, according to HHC.
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Spencer remains in serious but stable condition, HHC said Tuesday.
His fiancee and two friends who spent time with him before he got sick remain asymptomatic.
Ebola is spread by directly touching the bodily fluids of an infected person. It can't be contracted simply by being near someone who has Ebola. Only people who are very ill can spread the disease.
Melissa Russo contributed to this report
