A Buffalo-based doctor, just back from Sierra Leone, says the governors of New York and New Jersey "went beyond science" in quarantining healthcare providers returning from West Africa. Dr. Myron Glick, Jericho Road Community Health Center's Chief Medical Officer, says he never saw any Ebola patients. Glick says he has no known risk.
"The CDC would say, you can re-enter normal society, you can see patients, you can go to church, you can take your kids to the football game. You're not a risk. But, to be safe, they make us check our temperatures twice a day and report back to them twice a day and be honest about symptoms. I have four children [and] my wife. I have responsibility to Jericho Road. I'm not going to put someone at risk," Glick told WBFO on Monday.
Glick says he thinks the decision by the governors was made out of "fear and politics." He says it will hurt the medical community's effort to recruit healthcare providers to go to West Africa to help fight the epidemic.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, commenting at a stop in Medina Monday, said she believes Cuomo and other lawmakers are doing their best to contain the spread of Ebola in New York State.
“I think the Ggvernor had a very real issue with regard to the airports. He and Governor Christie were in charge of several airports and they wanted to know what kind of screening is appropriate. I think through conversation, they will get to the right place with the support of CDC and the administration," said Gillibrand.
"This is uncharted territory. This is something that all of leaders are trying to make sure we get right. So far, we are meeting the needs of keeping our community safe and making sure we’re providing the health care that our patients desperately need,”
Gillibrand says she believes listening to the advice of medical professionals will be the best defense against containing the deadly virus.
