DALLAS -
Sunday marks one week since the Dallas Ebola patient was rushed to the hospital.
Now, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is admitting to 'missteps' in how the Ebola response has been handled.
Liberian national Thomas Duncan is still in critical condition for a second day.
Officials searched several hours for a homeless man who rode in the same ambulance right after Duncan a week ago today. He's considered low-risk and is now being watched at parkland hospital.
Mayor Rawlings is focused on the coming week to see if any of the identified low or high-risk individuals start showing symptoms.
During this week of Thomas Duncan's quarantine his condition has improved, but worsened in the past 48 hours.
Duncan is living in a medical cocoon inside Presbyterian Hospital. He's being treated by a series of doctors and nurses monitoring his fluid levels, trying to keep the Ebola virus at bay.
In the meantime, the 50 people he came into contact with during the four days he was symptomatic, but not hospitalized, are being screened by CDC medical staff daily. So far none have shown any signs of the virus.
“We're in the critical time right here, holding my breath, praying for the patient and looking to each of these people to see if their fever spikes, and if their fever spikes, we get them to the hospital ASAP,” says Mayor Rawlings.
The Mayor says as much as Duncan's recovery is critical for him and his family; psychologically, it's critical for the City of Dallas.
“We obviously are concerned as a city, but we're really positive about this thing and we're very safe as well,” Mayor Rawlings says.
The Mayor and county leaders get two daily briefings, one with the CDC. There will be another update on Monday at 2 p.m.
