New York City officials are so jittery about causing widespread Ebola panic that 911 dispatchers have been forbidden from dropping any "E"-bombs over the radios, The New York Post has learned.
An FDNY memo instructs all personnel to use more vague terms when discussing the deadly disease, which is threatening to become a global pandemic.
"At no point shall a dispatcher transmit over the radio any message containing the word 'Ebola' or related terminology," according to the advisory, which was obtained by The Post.
Dispatchers instead must use the code letters "F/T," as in Fever/Travel, to indicate that a 911 caller has a fever and a history of travel to West Africa. "Engine XXX, utilize Universal Precautions — you are responding to a Fever/Travel incident," dispatchers are now ordered to say.
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A source said the directive is meant to minimize fear of a citywide outbreak, since the emergency radio channels are closely monitored by civilian hobbyists and members of the media.
"Just like you can’t say bomb on an airplane, we can't say ‘Ebola,'" said the source. "Back in the '80s and '90s, taking universal precautions meant someone has AIDS. And we weren't allowed to say AIDS either."
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