Philadelphia officials say Ebola plans in place

Mayor Michael Nutter spent almost an hour Friday updating how Philadelphia is preparing for a potential Ebola diagnosis here.

The city’s top health and emergency management officials said they are doing all they can to be ready to deal with the possibility of Ebola.

“So I think we have to be very, very careful about what we say and how we say it and what’s the purpose and all of that for context about what we are dealing with here,” he said. “We have not one case in Philadelphia, we have not one scare in Philadelphia.”

The city is following guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control, said Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. James Buehler.  And if those change, so will the city’s approach.

“The question after what’s happened in Dallas is what is the appropriate response,” he said. “If the new guidelines that come up call for a higher level of protection, that will basis of our recommendations.”

City fire officials have 1,000 protective suits to supplement the 700 the department already has.  First responders are being trained on how to use them and remove them properly.