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"We have received preliminary notification that the patient admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital late last night has tested negative for Ebola," Dr. Thomas Balcezak said in a statement early Thursday evening. "Due to an overabundance of caution, before we fully rule it out, we will wait for the CDC official confirmation of the test result.
"In the meantime we will continue to monitor the patient using all appropriate protocols and precautions in order to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and community."
The patient, a Yale doctoral student who had recently returned from Liberia, was admitted Wednesday night to the hospital after showing signs of a fever, according to hospital officials. The student had been on voluntary sequestration and was self-monitoring his health. The student was not doing field work with an Ebola patient while in Liberia.
The patient was placed in isolation and was cared for by two nurses, hospital officials said Thursday.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the patient would remain in isolation despite the preliminary negative test results from the Massachusetts State Public Health laboratory.
“Certainly this is encouraging news,” said Malloy. “While the initial test results are negative, Dr. [Jewel] Mullen has made the determination that it is in the best interest for residents in New Haven and the surrounding area that the patient remain isolated as we await official test results from the CDC.”
Malloy also announced that he is convening a Unified Command Team to be chaired by Public Health Commissioner Jewel Mullen to serve as point in the state’s ongoing emergency management efforts.
“We will continue to monitor the current situation and provide whatever resources we have at our disposal to ensure that everyone – from the nurses in our emergency rooms to our first responders and our law enforcement personnel – has the ability to do their critically important jobs safely and effectively,” Malloy said.
Before the Ebola test results were known, Malloy and Mullen held a press conference. In it, they reported that they had ordered the patient placed in quarantine until test results were returned, and said the state was convening a response team to handle emergency operations in the event that Ebola broke out in Connecticut.
Malloy also said he was ordering every hospital in the state to conduct an Ebola drill within the next seven days to monitor preparedness and response.
Residents with concerns are encouraged to call United Way 211, which is providing information and links on its website at www.211ct.org or call 2-1-1.
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