One day after health officials from the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that a kind physician and volunteer for Doctors Without Borders has been diagnosed with an Ebola virus infection, the New York Times published a story on the patient’s fiancee, a liberal and kind-hearted woman whose efforts to help those in need have brought her to Costa Rica.

The New York Times story on Morgan Dixon, Dr. Craig Spencer’s future bride, who works at a charitable organization that helps the homeless population of Brooklyn. Ms. Dixon and Dr. Spencer met while traveling:

So Ms. Dixon explored — China, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ghana, Burundi. She met her future fiancé, Craig Spencer, in a language immersion course in Henan Province in China in 2006 or 2007. He shared her passion for helping others less fortunate.

An Associated Press story published by online portal MSN described the situation in New York City:

Dr. Craig Spencer remained in stable condition while isolated in a hospital, talking by cellphone to his family and assisting disease detectives who are accounting for his every movement since arriving in New York from Guinea via Europe on Oct. 17.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blassio sought to assuage fear of an epidemic in one of the world’s most populous metropolitan areas:

“New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are simply not at risk.”

The straightforward mentality of New Yorkers was evident as one of Dr. Spencer’s neighbors spoke to the Associated Press:

Tanya Thomas, 47, who lives in Spencer’s building, was matter-a-fact about the whole thing.

“He’s the one with Ebola,” she said. “If I get it, I get it.”

In Costa Rica, health reporter Lady Rojas from online news daily CRHoy.com recently explained that officials from La Caja, the public health service, have been busy meeting with key members from the Boards of Nursing and Microbiology. The focus of the meetings is to continue to implement the Ebola control measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and to avoid nosocomial infections – those that originate at health care facilities.