The freelance NBC News cameraman who was diagnosed in Liberia with the Ebola virus has arrived at a Nebraska hospital for treatment. Ashoka Mukpo left Liberia on a specially equipped jet just before 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday (9:30 p.m. local time), walking onto the aircraft with assistance. After the plane made a brief refueling stop in Bangor, Maine, it landed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha. Clad in a white hooded jumpsuit, Mukpo walked off the plane and was placed on a stretcher and carried into an ambulance by attendants wearing yellow protective suits. A police convoy whisked the ambulance to Nebraska Medical Center, where Mukpo's parents and girlfriend were waiting to greet him via videoconference.
Mukpo, 33, is the fifth American diagnosed with Ebola. He was hired Tuesday to be a second cameraman for NBC News Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. He tested positive for Ebola on Thursday. Snyderman, who spoke with Mukpo on the phone Saturday morning, said he was in "great spirits" — and in a positive sign, she said, he was eating and drinking on his own.
Mukpo's father, Dr. Mitchell Levy, said his eldest child had been anxious to leave Liberia. Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Levy said Mukpo was feeling "not that ill." Regarded as one of the few health facilities in the U.S. with expertise in Ebola, the Nebraska Medical Center also treated American doctor Rick Sacra.
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