The Following is via TheHill.com
A travel ban to the countries facing an Ebola outbreak could paradoxically make the problem worse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said during a Saturday press conference.
Frieden said the CDC would consider any and all precautions, but warned that a travel ban could make it harder to get medical care and aid workers to regions dealing with the outbreak.
He cited the recent delay African Union aid workers experienced trying to get to Liberia.
“Their ability to get there was delayed by about a week because their flight was canceled and they were stuck in a neighboring country,” he said.
Frieden also said the CDC has experienced a spike in reported potential cases of Ebola following the first diagnosis of a patient in the U.S. in Dallas earlier this week, saying the rise in concern was a good thing but that he remained the only patient who has been identified as suffering from the disease. Two patients who were initially identified as having potential Ebola symptoms in the Washington, D.C. area were ruled to not have the disease on Saturday.
“We have definitely seen an increase in the number since this patient was diagnosed… that is as it should be,” Frieden said.
“We have already gotten well over 100 inquiries for possible patients… this one patient has tested positive,” he said. “We expect we will see more rumors, concerns, possibilities of cases. Until there is a positive test that’s what they are, rumors and concerns.”
Frieden emphasized lessons to be learned from the delayed response to the Ebola patient in Dallas. It took two days for those who had been in contact with him to be contacted by medical officials, and Frieden said that should alert medical professionals to pay especially close attention to patients’ travel history if they’re showing signs of fever.
“As we anticipated, the arrival of the first Ebola patient in the U.S. has really increased attention to what health workers in this country need to do to be alert and make sure a travel history is taking,” he said.
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4 Responses
Could this guy get any stupider? How about a travel ban for everyone but the aid workers, and they’ll charter flights for the aid workers? I’m sure that will be cheaper than dealing with a full blown outbreak here.
Then there should be a direct travel ban FROM Ebola infected countries.
Popa you’re right on. This guy must have been born in Chelm. How about no one, including aid workers, go there.
Avi732: There is no reason why aid workers should not go. There are actual sick people there who need help. They’re human beings. The doctors wear protective gear at all times. The problem starts when regular people are stupid enough to visit an Ebola infected country, they come back to the US and bam! That’s what happened in Texas. Ebola is only contagious when you handle the bodily fluids of someone who is infected. It is not airborne. And no, the government can’t protect us, lucky for us we have Hashem.