Gov. Patrick Says Mass. Is Prepared For Ebola
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick is reassuring Massachusetts residents after the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S. was being treated in Texas.
Patrick said Wednesday there is a "very, very low risk" of the disease in Massachusetts. The Texas patient was visiting from Liberia. Ebola has ravaged West Africa.
The state Public Health Department issued an advisory Wednesday saying Massachusetts is well prepared to handle an incidence of Ebola in the unlikely event that a case occurs here.
The advisory says the public can be confident that local hospitals have the expertise, preparedness and capacity to handle a case of Ebola, calling the infectious disease controls in Massachusetts and the United States "world class."
The DPH says it's also provided clinical guidance to hospitals and health care providers on identifying suspected cases of Ebola.
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