Boston Doctors: Isolated Patient “Extremely Low” Risk for Having Ebola

A Massachusetts patient isolated Sunday with possible Ebola symptoms is at an "extremely low risk" for having the virus, doctors say.

The man, who had recently traveled to Liberia, was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center after being isolated at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Braintree.

Monday, Tufts Medical Center confirmed that it had evaluated three patients with possible Ebola symptoms in the past two weeks, and that none of them met the criteria for "an expected Ebola case."

Before the patient was isolated Sunday, he told doctors at Harvard Vanguard about his symptoms, which included a headache and muscle aches. Both hospitals said the response was due to "an abundance of caution."

"The patient remains in isolation and is in good condition," read a statement released by Beth Israel Monday. "We want to emphasize, there is no risk to other patients, visitors or staff. BIDMC remains open for clinical operations."

Boston health officials reiterated Monday afternoon that no confirmed cases of Ebola in the city.

Dr. Anita Barry, the commissioner of Boston Public Health, said that any possible cases of Ebola are assessed to see if the ymeet criteria for high risk, low risk or no risk. According to Barry, no recent suspect cases have even met criteria set by the Centers for Disease Control to monitor the patient for Ebola.

In a statement, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan commended the work of officials to keep the public safe on Sunday.

"Every precaution was taken in this case today and the patient has now been transported to a Boston hospital," he wrote. "The patient's car has been taken to a secure location where it can be monitored by law enforcement until more is known about the individual's condition."

Sullivan added that he was pleased that Braintree's public offices were able to assist the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the CDC.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh echoed Sullivan's sentiments in a statement Sunday night.

"Today's efforts reinforced my belief that the city is more than prepared to deal with any scenario like this," he wrote. "I have full confidence in our departments and healthcare organizations that we can keep Bostonians safe and healthy."

Brewster Ambulance Service, which transported the patient from Braintree to Beth-Israel, said in a statement that the company followed protocol.

"The interior of the ambulance was sealed with impermeable plastic sheeting during the transport, and will be chemically decontaminated before being returned to service," read the statement.

President Mark Brewster added in the statement that the company's staff has been trained to handle such a situation.

"Our staff has been carefully preparing over the last several weeks for situations like this," he said. "The actions by all emergency responders, including Braintree firefighters and police and our EMS team, went exactly according to protocol."

The Massachusetts DPH cleared Harvard Vanguard to be fully operational Monday. The building reopened Sunday after being closed briefly.

Hazmat, police, fire and EMS crews were on the scene in Braintree.