MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti) - In his weekly address on Saturday, US President Obama re-emphasized following his last week's address that Ebola-panic should be avoided and urged people to be guided by facts over fears, further commending New Yorkers for their calmness.
"We have to be guided by the science — we have to be guided by the facts, not fear," Obama was quoted as saying by the White House press release, while addressing the public.
"I want to leave you with some basic facts. First, you cannot get Ebola easily. You can't get it through casual contact with someone," he added.
Obama also applauded New Yorkers for evading the Ebola hysteria following the announcement of the first Ebola patient in the city on Friday.
"Yesterday, New Yorkers showed us the way. They did what they do every day — jumping on buses, riding the subway, crowding into elevators, heading into work, gathering in parks," Obama said.
Craig Spencer, a 33-year-old health worker who had been treating Ebola patients in Guinea, is being treated at an isolation unit at the Bellevue Hospital Center after being rushed to the Manhattan trauma center on Thursday when he reported a high fever and diarrhea, according to a report by USA Today.
The latest World Health Organization (WHO) case count, released Saturday, indicated that a total of 10,141 confirmed, probable and suspected cases have been reported so far. The Ebola virus has caused 4,922 deaths, with the hardest hit countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea accounting for 4,912 of the deaths.
Among the reported cases, 244 of the 450 infected healthcare workers have died; three in the United States.
According to the WHO, the virus is not air-borne and is only transmitted by direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. However, symptoms may take up to three weeks to show.
