Dr. Mary T. Bassett, commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, claimed in a press conference last night that the latest Ebola patient had self-isolated since returning from Africa. Later, she admitted that in fact the patient had spent a lot of time in public and with other people:
“We know that he left his apartment and so that he — self-quarantine would have meant he never left his apartment. But he did self-isolate in the sense that … he limited his contact with people and saw friends. He did leave his apartment, so I don’t want to give the impression that he was in his apartment the entire time.”
The same health commissioner went on to later note that the Ebola patient took the subway (the A train, L train, and the 1 train), went to a bowling ally, took an Uber, later went to the High Line, and “may have stopped and gone to a restaurant along the way.” He also went for a 3-mile run around the city.
Additionally, the patient spent time with his fiance and two friends, .
The health commissioner insisted that they’d try their best to retrace his patient’s steps, suggesting they might try to figure out who else might have come in contact.
