5:00 p.m. So how is NYC handling Ebola? Throughout New York City, health officials announced that 357 individuals are being actively monitored, representing travelers from Ebola afflicted countries as well as hospital staff who cared for the latest Ebola patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, at Bellevue Hospital.

Dr. Spencer is still undergoing treatment at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and according to the NYC Department of Health, Spencer continues to show improvement and is in stable condition.

Someone he came into contact while he was contagious has also been upgraded from being quarantined to to direct active monitoring, which means a health official will visit the patient and check his or her symptoms once a day. His or her travel is no longer restricted, according to a statement from NYC health officials.

3:30 p.m. It’s time to throw more money at it. In a letter to Congress Thursday afternoon, President Obama asked representatives to approve $6.18 billion emergency appropriations request for the 2015 fiscal year to develop a comprehensive strategy to contain and end the Ebola outbreak. This request mirrors the appeal to Congress in 2009 to combat the H1N1 flu outbreak.

“My foremost priority is to protect the health and safety of Americans, and this request supports all necessary steps to fortify our domestic health system and prevent any outbreaks at home,” said President Obama in the letter. “Over the longer term, my Administration recognizes that the best way to prevent additional cases at home will be to contain and eliminate the epidemic at its source in Africa.”

The funding request would be $4.64 billion for immediate needs and $1.54 billion in contingency funding.

10:00 a.m. Sad homecoming. Teresa Romero, the Spanish nursing assistant who contracted Ebola, was discharged from the hospital Wednesday morning. While she thanked the physicians and caregivers for saving her life, she had a clear message for the Spanish officials who she said “executed” her dog, Excalibur. Within days of Romero’s Ebola diagnosis, officials put the dog down because of the risk he might have contracted the Ebola virus from his owner.

Romero is still unsure of how she contracted the deadly virus, but in a statement shepledged to donate her blood to help cure others.

9:30 a.m. Ebola response in Africa gets a new, optimistic boss. The World Health Organization announced Wednesday morning that a doctor from Botswana, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, has been elected to become the next Africa director.

‘‘I hope that the (Ebola) situation will be improved by the time I take office in February 2015,’’ Dr. Moeti told reporters after the election announcement. The previous director stepped down in March under undisclosed circumstances, according to the Associated Press.

The latest numbers:

Number of cases worldwide in the current outbreak: 13,703 (as of Oct. 30)

Number of deaths: 4,920 (as of Oct. 30)

Countries currently affected by Ebola: Mali, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Spain, and the United States of America.

Countries where the outbreak has ended: Nigeria (Oct. 19), Senegal (Oct. 17)

And here’s your daily reminder not to panic:

The likelihood of contracting Ebola in Massachusetts remains very low, according to the state’s public health officials. You have to be in direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids while they are contagious (displaying symptoms of Ebola). Even if someone has been exposed, symptoms may appear in as little as two days, and in as many as 21 days, after exposure. The CDC says the average is 8 to 10 days.

Ebola symptoms:

- Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)

- Severe headache

- Muscle pain

- Weakness

- Diarrhea

- Vomiting

- Abdominal (stomach) pain

- Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

Need more details? Here’s an MGH physician dropping some knowledge for you.