New York -
Thousands of health-care workers in New York - including doctors, nurses and janitors - have received training this week aimed at preparing them in the event that the Ebola virus is found in New York.
The training session on Tuesday, which included tips on how to recognise Ebola and prevent it from spreading, was intended to address concerns that the existing practices were not adequate at US health facilities.
New measures were taken after two nurses in Dallas contracted the Ebola virus after caring for a Liberian man who became ill last month after arriving in Texas. He died in early October.
“What's going to kill this disease is knowledge, is training, is preparation,” New York governor Andrew Cuomo told the health-care workers, according to local newspapers.
Several patients with possible symptoms of Ebola have recently arrived at New York hospitals, but so far none have been tested positive for the deadly virus.
Cuomo has called on the federal government to consider banning some flights coming to New York from West Africa in a bid to avoid Ebola outbreak.
Passengers arriving from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three West African nations that have been at the centre of the epidemic, are now stopped at Kennedy International Airport - and four other airports - for enhanced screening, including temperature readings and questioning by health officials.
People from the three countries can now only enter the United States through the five airports conducting screenings.
The checks are meant to spot fever and other possible Ebola symptoms, and to identify people who may have had exposure risks in West Africa. - Sapa-dpa