Amber Vinson, Ebola patient
Family: Infected nurse is Ebola-free
01:43 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

A doctor in New York City tests positive for Ebola. The European Union pledges more funds to fight the deadly virus. And a military response team begins training.

With multiple developments under way, here’s the latest on the Ebola outbreak:

U.S. DEVELOPMENTS

Doctor tests positive

A Doctors Without Borders physician who recently returned to New York from Guinea has tested positive for the Ebola virus, becoming the first diagnosed case in the city.

Craig Spencer, 33, returned to New York on October 17 after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, and he reportedly developed a fever Thursday morning.

President cautiously optimistic

President Barack Obama said a number of things made him “cautiously more optimistic” about the Ebola situation in the United States and around the world. Obama said he was encouraged that dozens of people who had initial contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan did not get the virus. In addition, the two Americans who contracted Ebola outside and came to the United States for treatment were cured. He said he was pleased that both Nigeria and Senegal were Ebola free.

Texas nurse to be transferred from isolation

Texas nurse Amber Vinson, who is being treated for Ebola at Emory Hospital in Atlanta, is steadily regaining her strength and her spirits are high, her family said. Her mother, Debra Berry, said doctors can no longer detect the virus in Vinson’s body. She will be transferred from isolation, and her family is “ecstatic,” Berry said.

Other Texas nurse is getting better

The condition of Nina Pham, who contracted Ebola after treating Duncan, has been upgraded from fair to good.

Bentley the dog doing well

Samples from nurse Pham’s dog Bentley were collected Monday. The good news is the animal tested negative for the virus. More specimens will be collected before the end of the 21-day quarantine.

Go team begins training

A 30-member U.S. military team that could be called on to respond to new cases of Ebola in the United States has started specialized training at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. The weeklong training includes infection control and how to use personal protective gear.

WEST AFRICA DEVELOPMENTS

More funds

A total of 9,911 confirmed or probable cases, and 4,868 deaths have been reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the World Health Organization said. Every district in Sierra Leone has reported at least one case.

Mali’s first confirmed case

A 2-year-old girl with Ebola in Mali – that West African country’s first confirmed case – has died, Mali state TV reported Friday, attributing the information to government health officials.

The girl came from neighboring Guinea, where the outbreak is believed to have started. Her father died of Ebola, and she was taken to a hospital in Kayes after a nurse noticed her symptoms. But WHO said it was seeking confirmation of media reports that the girl went to Guinea to attend the funeral of her mother, who is said to have shown Ebola-like symptoms before her death.

The girl, whose father died of Ebola, was taken to the hospital in Kayes after a nurse noticed she was suffering from what appeared to be Ebola-like symptoms. A test confirmed the girl has Ebola, Health Ministry spokeswoman Markatie Daou said.

Three-week monitoring for some travelers

All travelers coming to the United States from Ebola-affected areas will be actively monitored for 21 days. Also, all U.S.-bound passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea must land in one of the five U.S. airports with enhanced screening for Ebola: New York’s John F. Kennedy International, Washington Dulles, New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International, Chicago’s O’Hare International and Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta.

Travel

In a Thursday press conference, World Health Organization officials again stressed that it opposes a travel ban as a means of controlling the virus. Some in the United States and elsewhere have called for a blocking of those who attempt to enter the nation by air, while many in the scientific and medical community say doing so would make those with Ebola more difficult to track because they would attempt to cross borders by land. If the United States were to institute a travel ban, it would be unprecedented.

Earlier, Belize’s government issued a ban on citizens of affected West African countries.

ASIA DEVELOPMENTS

No entry to North Korea

A pair of Beijing-based agencies that specialize in travel to North Korea say they’ve been told by their “partners in Pyongyang” that the nation won’t allow international tourists to enter starting Friday because of the threat of Ebola. It’s not clear whether the restriction affects business travelers.

CNN’s Katarina Hoije, Ed Lavandera, Kevin Liptak, Barbara Starr and Rene Marsh contributed to this report.