Ebola patient Dr. Craig Spencer upgraded to stable condition, Bellevue officials say

The condition of Dr. Craig Spencer, the New York City physician being treated for the Ebola virus at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, has improved, hospital officials said Saturday.

Spencer, 33, of West Harlem, is considered in "stable" condition -- an upgrade from his previous "serious but stable" condition, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation announced.

"Based on our patient's clinical progress and response to treatment, today HHC is updating his condition to 'stable' from 'serious but stable,' " hospital officials said in a news release. "The patient will remain in isolation and continue to receive full treatment."

No further information on Spencer's response to treatment or his outlook was immediately available, officials said.

Also Saturday, the city health department announced that a friend of Spencer's who had been quarantined has been placed on less-restrictive "active monitoring" following a physician review. Officials determined that "the individual's exposure was not consistent with how Ebola is transmitted," and he poses no public health threat, the department said.

Spencer had volunteered in Guinea for Doctors Without Borders.