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CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL
New Jersey Health Commissioner Holds Press Conference
Aired October 27, 2001 - 16:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to take you right to New Jersey where a news conference is being held by the Health Department there in New Jersey and the CDC. Let's listen in.
DR. GEORGE DIFERDINANDO, NEW JERSEY HEALTH COMMISSIONER: ... we call Hamilton. And then Dr. Breslin (ph) will do -- go through in detail updating cases, environmental investigations and things like that. And then we will talk about -- we will take questions.
So let me talk to you about how the Department of Health and Senior Services in conjunction with the CDC and the St. Francis Medical Center will begin providing antibiotic preventive therapy or prophylaxis to all people who went into the non-public working areas of the Hamilton -- the Route 130 mail processing center dating back to September 18th.
As you know, the environmental samples in many parts of the facility were positive for anthrax and therefore we (AUDIO GAP) earlier this week that those who went and picked up mail in those areas receive preventive prescriptions or antibiotic prophylaxis.
The St. Francis Medical Center will open a clinic in Crean Hall -- C-R-E-A-N- Hall auditorium in the School of Nursing at St. Francis Medical Center at 601 Hamilton Ave. in Trenton. It'll start Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. and will run until 9:00 p.m. The clinic will continue through Thursday, again, 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. We're reiterating now though that visitors to the public areas where stamps are bought, the mailbox section, things like that -- we do not feel that there's a need for them to be treated because those areas were tested negative.
The following individuals who visited the workplace areas in the Hamilton facility are strongly encouraged to visit the clinic and begin a 60 day treatment regiment. This includes four groups -- temporary postal workers, vendors, contractors and really anyone else in the workplace areas.
A separate clinic for postal workers at the Hamilton facility has been in operation by the RWJ Hospital (AUDIO GAP) and will continue to be in operation.
As -- again, as you know, we announced earlier this week that anyone who was working in the Hamilton facility should be on 60 days of antibiotic prophylaxis and that would be also the recommendation for this group even if they -- no matter what the results of their nasal swabs might be. Dr. Breslin (ph) is going to up date you on those nasal swabs but we reiterate for probably the umpteenth time now that the nasal swabs have no connection to either a diagnostic or therapeutic decision.
So people shouldn't get the message that -- if they had a negative swab that it has anything to do with whether they should take medication or note.
The department has established via tiers of phones lines -- they're still at work out there -- that is still 609-538-6030. It's open between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. until further notice. And it keeps getting phone calls. And we'll keep it open as long as we need.
Now Dr. Breslin (ph) will update you on various clinical -- the clinical...
CALLAWAY: You've been listening to the New Jersey Health Commissioner saying that antibiotic preventative measures are being taken at the Hamilton mail processing center to everyone who was in the non-public area. That would include all of the postal workers, all of the temporary postal workers and any contractors who were in that area.
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