City of Portland Prepared for Infectious Diseases

Portland is following guidelines provided by the CDC to prepare and ensure the safety of the public

Portland, Maine - According to acting City Manager Sheila Hill-Christian, Portland’s emergency preparedness partners continue to meet and share information to ensure all parties remain informed and connected so that they are ready to respond at all times. Hill-Christian indicates “At present, the risk of contracting Ebola is exceedingly low.”

Recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control indicate that healthcare workers should use “standard contact and droplet precautions.”  Fire Chief Jerome LaMoria states “our Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians use these standards routinely.  Our history proves that with rigorous adherence to prescribed guidance we can care for the citizens and visitors of our city and ensure our employee's safe return to their homes and loved ones.”

The Fire Department has inventoried supplies of necessary equipment to protect patients and the
providers and supplies are sufficient based on current predictions. "In an abundance of caution, I have directed fire department staff to order additional equipment and supplies, in the unlikely event its use becomes necessary” according to LaMoria.

Acting Health and Human Services Department head Julianne Sullivan stated that the Public Health Department preparation and response uses an “all hazards plan and feels ready for whatever may come. The Public Health Division uses standard contact and droplet precautions as recommended by the CDC every day where and when necessary.”  Sullivan also indicated that they have meetings scheduled with the district Maine CDC staff later this month.

City officials want to remind the public that the only means to contract the Ebola virus is through direct contact with an Ebola patient or the bodily fluids of an Ebola patient.  With no active cases in the area the likelihood of contracting the disease is practically non-existent.  A much more prevalent threat is seasonal influenza which may be prevented by obtaining a flu shot.