NYC: 357 people being monitored for signs of Ebola virus

New York City officials said Wednesday that they are now monitoring 357 people for signs of Ebola -- including volunteers who returned from Africa in the past three weeks and personnel involved in treating the infected doctor in Manhattan.

The 357 "are being monitored out of an abundance of caution, and none are showing any symptoms," a city statement said.

The city also said the second of three associates who came in contact with the doctor, Craig Spencer, just before his diagnosis is being freed from city-ordered quarantine. The friend, who has not been publicly named, is now subject to "direct active monitoring" -- a determination made "after additional physician review."

"The individual poses no public health threat and is showing no symptoms," the city statement said. "This person's daily movements in New York City will no longer be restricted, and the individual will be assessed twice each day by Health Department staff."

The first friend of Spencer's was released from quarantine last week. Spencer's fiancee remains under quarantine.

There were 117 people being actively monitored as of Oct. 30. The number will continue to fluctuate as the 21-day Ebola incubation window closes for some and opens for others.

Those being monitored include those who had direct contact with Spencer, including EMTs who transported him and lab technicians who analyzed his blood.

Spencer, 33, of West Harlem, an emergency doctor who went to West Africa to volunteer in the disease-ravaged region, was diagnosed late last month and is at Bellevue Hospital Center. He is in stable condition and improving, the city said.

Ebola can only spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone who is already showing symptoms of the disease.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.