NYC-WTC_000230706

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

daily NEWS, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2001

Bio-terror risk stirsfear in city By AUSON GENDAR OAIVY NEWS STAFF WRtTtR

Despite efforts of city officials to urge calm, New Yorkers were caught up yesterday in a wave of fear I over deadly anthrax contamination. Scores of New Yorkers took ' their coughs to emergency would shrug off flu symptoms rooms across the city to make walked into emergen^ rooms sure their flu symptoms weren’t and called their doctors. the first stages of the disease “In these times, you can never that recently killed a Florida be too safe,” said Javon Hard­ man. ing, 37, who left St. Vincent’s ■They called 911 to report SUS- Medical Center in Manhattan picious letters and badgered doc- yesterday with a Department of tors for prescriptions to stock- Health information packet ex­ pile anthrax-fighting antibiotics plaining why his runny nose like ciprofloxacin and doxicy- was only a cold. ' cline. Doctors in hospitals across ' Businesses suspended mail- the city gave cold sufferers a I room operations and the U-S. briefing on anthrax, updated . Postal Service advised its carri- them about the low risk of con- ers not to deliver suspicious trading the disease and sent I packages or letters containing them home without antibiotics. powder. Dine jg scarce Yerinpartsofthecity.anti-an. ^hrax drugs could not be found. A Duane Reade pharmacy a ^2, an ^estment banker Station ran out. Cipro before the NBC case persuade his sister, a doctor, to soannounced ha^ th? CVS pharmacy h, A L An’ downtown at Nassau and Rilton Sts., where 77-year-old Anna Foulke had tried for two days to get the drug for her 87-year-old ^Goldstemsaid. lister who is suffering from a Rudy urges calm bladder infection. Mayor Giuliani urged New “People with normal... prob- Yorkers not to fear the latest an- ieras can’t get it because people thrax report or to overreact. The are panicky.” Foulke said. , disease was isolated, treatable In Edison, NJ., police evacu^t- and under investigation, he said, ed 201 workers from the Ford au- New Yorkers, though, were tomotive plant yesterday mom- still nervous. ing after an employee said he In its early stages, anthrax re- feared he had^ contracted an- sembtes the flu. Health and city thrax. It was not immediately officials said only people who clear what prompted his belief. have direct contact with the Test results are expected pathogen face a risk. today, state Health Department Bui people who normally officials said.

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