Boy, 5, tests negative for Ebola virus in NYC

NEW YORK - A five-year-old boy who was being tested for the Ebola virus has tested negative for the diseease, according to New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

The child, who had been in one of the three West African countries affected by the disease in the past 21 days, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Sunday night after reporting a fever, the agency said. CBS Radio station 1010 WINS reported earlier that he had been in Guinea with relatives before traveling to the United States.

Officials said the child did not have a fever in the initial examination, but later developed one at around 7 a.m. Monday. After consulting with the hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Department conducted a test for Ebola.

"The child was showing some signs of an illness," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, "Not clear what the illness was. We did the cautious thing and brought the child in under the full protocol."

An ambulance crew in full hazmat gear brought the child to the hospital as part of the new Ebola measures put into place in New York City.

"Out of an abundance of caution, further negative Ebola tests are required on subsequent days to ensure that the patient is cleared," according to a statement from the Health and Hospitals Corporation released Monday evening. "The patient will also be tested for common respiratory viruses. The patient will remain in isolation until all test results have returned."

"The child was showing some signs of an illness," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, including WCBS 880's Rich Lamb and 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa. "Not clear what the illness was. We did the cautious thing and brought the child in under the full protocol."

News of the boy's test results come in the wake of new guidelines set by New York and New Jersey officials for health workers returning to the United States from Ebola stricken nations, which include mandatory quarantines. The new policies have fallen under some criticism fro m the White House.

Those policies are also falling under scrutiny from the health care workers themselves. Kaci Hickox, the first traveler quarantined under Ebola watches in New Jersey and New York, criticized the way her case has been handled. She was released from quarantine on Monday.

Meanwhle, Dr. Craig Spencer, who tested positive for the disease on Thursday remains at Bellevue in serious but stable condition.

Over the weekend, he received plasma from Nancy Writebol, who was successfully treated for Ebola at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta in August.