MIAMI – A teenager from West Africa was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital on Sunday after exhibiting signs of Ebola, but the city of Miami Beach said preliminary results are negative.
City spokeswoman Nannette Rodriguez said Monday that testing for the Ebola virus by the Florida Department of Health was negative.
Officials said the patient took a taxi to Mount Sinai Medical Center after becoming sick. Paramedics then took the teen to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where that patient was being quarantined.
"Jackson has been publicly forthcoming in asserting our confidence and readiness, and that we have established and tested protocols to deal with infectious diseases in general and with Ebola in specific," the hospital said in a statement. "We will do everything to ensure safety and treatment for all of our patients. Jackson takes patient privacy serious and will not release information without consent."
Miami-Dade County Mayor Gimenez released a statement Sunday night on the health and safety of residents and visitors, saying, "Whenever necessary, we coordinate efforts with federal, state and local health officials to ensure that the county is doing all it can to minimize health risks for our residents and visitors.
"Due to patient privacy rules, the county is limited in what information we can provide. However, our residents and visitors should rest assured that despite the fact that this patient who was visiting our area did not meet the test criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control, and that it is unlikely that they have Ebola, out of an abundance of caution, I requested that the test still be conducted.
"I am confident that the protocol we have in place will safeguard the public from serious health risks."
Gov. Rick Scott also released a statement Sunday night announcing state preparedness actions, saying, "It's important to point out that this patient did not meet the CDC case definition for Ebola, but the test is being conducted out of an abundance of caution and health officials expect the test to rule out Ebola.
"Florida still does not have any confirmed cases of Ebola, and we hope we never do, but we are taking every preparedness step possible to keep our citizens and our visitors safe."