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President Barack Obama said hes open to naming a single person as an Ebola czar to coordinate the U.S. domestic response and that the key to stemming the spread of the virus is battling it in West Africa.

Obama again rejected banning entry to the U.S. of people from the affected countries. While saying he has no philosophical objection necessarily to a travel ban, the president cited specialists in disease control as recommending against it because may lead to a worse outcome.

After the administration acknowledged lapses in handling the first U.S. cases, Obama said hes mobilizing the federal government to contain any spread of the virus within the countrys borders.

I understand that people are scared, Obama said after meeting in the Oval Office with the top government officials coordinating the Ebola response. Its important for us to provide assurances to the public that folks are taking this very seriously, and they are.

Republican lawmakers are criticizing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions response to Ebola after a Liberian man visiting Dallas died of the disease last week and two nurses who treated him became the first people infected in the U.S.

Obama said he talked with the governors of Texas and Ohio about the Ebola cases. The second nurse who was infected traveled by commercial airliner to Cleveland and back to Dallas, and developed initial symptoms during the trip.

He said there may have been problems with how the protective gear for health workers was worn or was removed that led to the infections. We dont know yet exactly what happened.

The government will take steps to track and monitor anyone who was close to the second nurse, he said.

Obama canceled a planned speech on the economy in Rhode Island and a political fundraiser in New York to stay in Washington today to meet with administration officials, confer with lawmakers and call other world leaders on Ebola.

The change in schedule signaled the administrations sense of urgency in making sure the virus is contained, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

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Obama Says Hes Open to Ebola Czar, Rejects Travel Ban

President Obama said Thursday evening that he may consider imposing a ban on travel to Ebola outbreak areas and appointing an Ebola czar, but that for now he is focused on screening travelers for the disease.

Obama said he is worried a travel ban may encourage sick people to hide their illness, resulting in more cases rather than less.

Still, Obama said he might consider it "if experts recommend it.

And after the initial flurry of effort to contain Ebola has passed, Obama said, he also may think about naming one person to run the operation, rather than continuing to rely on the agency leaders and top advisors who are overseeing aspects of it.

It may make sense for us to have one person to have a more regular process just to make sure that were crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is, he said.

The remarks followed an Oval Office meeting with those point people, including National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The meeting was Obamas second in as many days with top health officials as he steps up his public response to Ebola in an effort to alleviate Americans growing concerns about the deadly disease and health authorities ability to contain it.

Obama assembled the group after a contentious congressional hearing during which Frieden defended the CDCs sometimes-faltering response to the three U.S. cases of Ebola.

The president, who skipped campaign trips to focus on the threat, also authorized the Department of Defense to send National Guard and reserve troops to West Africa in case theyre needed to respond to the Ebola crisis there. The U.S. had already said it would send as many as 4,000 military troops to give logistical support and build treatment centers.

Obama said he is calling other world leaders to ask them to increase their pledges of equipment and personnel, and making sure that the U.S. is getting all its workers on the ground as quickly as possible.

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Obama says he might consider appointing 'czar' to oversee Ebola fight

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- In today's "Morning Must Read," Fletcher School at Tufts University Dean Admiral James Stavridis recaps the op-ed pieces and analyst notes providing insight behind today's headlines. He speaks with Tom Keene, Scarlet Fu and Adam Johnson on "Bloomberg Surveillance. (Source: Bloomberg)

President Barack Obama said hes open to naming a czar to coordinate the U.S. domestic response to Ebola as concern over health workers possibly carrying the deadly virus spread from planes to schools and cruise ships.

It may make sense for us to have one person, in part just so that after this initial surge of activity we can have a more regular process, Obama told reporters yesterday at the White House. Just to make sure that were crossing all the ts and dotting all the is going forward.

After the administration acknowledged lapses in handling the first U.S. cases, Obama said hes mobilizing the federal government to contain any spread of the virus within the countrys borders. The key to stemming the outbreak is battling it in West Africa, he said. More than 4,400 people have died from Ebola this year, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Ebola Scourge

Republican lawmakers are criticizing the response by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after a Liberian man visiting Dallas died of Ebola last week and two nurses who treated him became the first people infected in the U.S. Some lawmakers have called on Obama to appoint a czar.

Three schools in Belton, Texas, were closed yesterday and will remain closed today after Superintendent Susan Kincannon learned that two students, who attend North Belton Middle School and Sparta Elementary, were on a Frontier Airlines flight that carried Amber Vinson, one of the nurses.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media about the fight against the Ebola virus during a meeting with his Ebola Response Team in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Oct. 16, 2014. Close

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Obama Says Hes Open to Ebola Czar to Coordinate Response

Sen. Rand Paul joins Gillespie, Dave Brat in Virginia
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. hit the campaign trail Wednesday afternoon with Republican candidate for Senate Ed Gillespie and Republican candidate for Congress Dave Brat.

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Sen. Rand Paul working the phone bank for Scott Brown in NH
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Sen. Rand Paul working the phone bank for Scott Brown in NH - Video