Gov. Chris Christie has signed an executive order to create a joint response team to coordinate on Ebola preparedness in the state.
The plan seeks to aid state officials as officials begin screening passengers from West Africa for Ebola symptoms when they arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport. The state Health Department would determine if a passenger needs to be quarantined, and other agencies would help transfer the person to one of three designated hospitals in the state.
Christie said at a news conference Wednesday morning that there is no indication that a West African passenger taken to a Newark hospital Tuesday has been infected by the virus. Christie says he expects that the patient, who had reported symptoms of having potential exposure to the virus, will be released from the hospital after he is interviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said Tuesday that the man was taken to Newark's University Hospital for evaluation. The agency didn't have an update on his condition Wednesday.
Christie said the state is taking the threat "extraordinarily seriously, but we are not going to be in the business of stoking hysteria" with the public. No patients have been diagnosed with Ebola in New Jersey.
"Everyone needs to be calm," he said.
Newark Liberty is one of five airports that President Barack Obama's administration now requires all U.S.-bound passengers from West Africa to pass through. People whose trips began in Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone will be screened for symptoms.
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The state has made arrangements to transport asymptomatic at-risk individuals to either temporary housing or the individual's home, depending on whether the person is a New Jersey resident.
