But don't worry, Ebola could never break out in the US they assure us.
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/26170612/drill-in-new-york-city
NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -
The New York City Department of Health conducted a
massive emergency preparedness drill at 30 facilities across the city
on Friday.
They tested the delivery of emergency medications in
the event of a biological attack, such as anthrax, or other large-scale
public health emergency in the city. The majority of the deliveries will
take place to public school buildings.
It's the largest surprise
drill in the city's history. The drill was scheduled to take place from
approximately 6:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The majority of participants
were given no notice to better test and simulate a real emergency and
response.
“The NYC Health Department is responsible for developing
and executing plans for the mass dispensing of life-saving medicine in
response to public health emergencies,” said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, First
Deputy Commissioner of the Health Department. “This exercise
demonstrates our commitment to ensuring we have the capability and
resources to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers in times
of crisis.”
The city warned that supply trucks would be escorted by NYPD and other law enforcement vehicles across the city.
The
exercise involves deploying more than 1,500 staff members from more
than a dozen city agencies and setting up 30 temporary locations that
would be used in the event of an emergency to dispense life-saving
medication.
The goal is to see how quickly they can get the drugs
distributed in case of an attack. The Health Dept. says that no actual
medications would be distributed as part of the drill, and there should
be no impact to other planned activities in the affected facilities.
“It
is our responsibility to make sure New York City is prepared for the
variety of hazards we may face, from a coastal storm to a public health
incident,” said NYC Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph
Esposito.
Called RAMPEx, which stands for Rapid Activation for
Mass Prophylaxis Exercise, the drill's estimated cost was $1.4 million.
The city says it will not share the results of the test due to security
concerns. The Health Department says it will use the results to make
policy and operational changes to its emergency response plan.
On Monday, Aug. 4, Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan reported a patient was placed into isolation because they displayed symptoms of Ebola.
The rapid spread of such a virus as Ebola in the U.S. is just beyond belief!
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