The first person to test positive for Ebola in New York City was diagnosed Thursday, Oct. 23.
According to NBC New York, Dr. Craig Spencer had just returned to the U.S. from West Africa, where he was helping to treat Ebola patients with the organization Doctors Without Borders.
Spencer felt fine during his return home Oct. 17. Upon flying into John F. Kennedy International Airport, he underwent careful screening. Showing no signs of Ebola, he was cleared. While he did not participate in voluntary quarantining for the virus' incubation period of 21 days, he took his own temperature twice a day, reported NBC New York.
When he woke up feeling sick with a high temperature on the morning of Oct. 23, he immediately called 911.
Medical first responders followed protocol and quickly transported the patient to Bellevue Hospital, where he will remain in a specially constructed isolated Ebola ward.
According to The New York Times, police officers are actively working to identify Spencer's recent locations. They have been screening his metro card as well as his credit cards in order to know exactly where he traveled in the days leading up to his diagnosis.
NBC New York noted that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised first responders for their outstanding actions during the medical emergency.