President Obama on the U.S. Response to Ebola
Excerpt from President Obama #39;s meeting with Cabinet officials and CDC Director Tom Frieden to discuss the government #39;s response to Ebola. October 15, 2014.
By: The White House
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President Obama on the U.S. Response to Ebola - Video
The Obama Deception Parte 2 de 11 Traduzido, Legendado
By: Bruno Guerreiro
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The Obama Deception Parte 2 de 11 Traduzido, Legendado - Video
Washington President Obama said Thursday evening that he might appoint an Ebola czar to oversee the US governments response to the virus.
The statement, made to reporters after meeting with top aides in the Oval Office, came amid growing pressure to do more to combat the threat to public health, even as he sought to reassure Americans that the government is on top of the situation.
It may make sense for us to have one person focused solely on Ebola, Mr. Obama said, in part, just so that after this initial surge of activity, we can have a more regular process just to make sure that were crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is going forward.
Obama defended the efforts of his advisers on Ebola, saying theyve been doing an outstanding job in dealing with what is a very complicated and fluid situation.
Advisers in the two-hour meeting included Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Thomas Frieden, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and top counterterrorism aide Lisa Monaco.
He noted that they have other important matters in their portfolios, including flu season and the Islamic State.
Obama also addressed the question of whether the US should institute a temporary ban on travel into the US from the West African countries most affected by Ebola Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. The president said he didnt have a philosophical objection to a travel ban, but cited experts in infectious disease who say that a travel ban could be counterproductive.
If we institute a travel ban instead of the protocols that weve put in place now, history shows that there is a likelihood of increased avoidance, Obama said. People do not readily disclose their information.
The US is putting in place procedures to screen passengers arriving from West Africa for signs of the disease. If a travel ban were put in place, people coming from the affected countries might engage in broken travel going to another country before coming to the US, to hide where they have been experts say.
As a result, we may end up getting less information about who has the disease, Obama said. Theyre less likely to get treated properly, screened properly, quarantined properly. And as a consequence, we could end up having more cases rather than less.
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Obama talks 'Ebola czar,' travel ban
WASHINGTON (AP) - Under pressure to select an Ebola "czar" to lead the U.S. response against the disease, President Barack Obama conceded Thursday it "may be appropriate" to designate a single individual to head the administration effort.
Obama also said he is "not philosophically opposed" to a travel ban from the Ebola-afflicted region of West Africa "if that is the thing that is going to keep the American people safe." But he said such a measure could be counterproductive.
He said his team of Ebola advisers is doing "an outstanding job." But he said several of them, including Centers for Disease Control director Thomas Frieden and Lisa Monaco, his top counterterrorism adviser, are also confronting other priorities. He noted that Frieden is also dealing with flu season and Monaco and national security adviser Susan Rice, with the Islamic State extremists in the Middle East.
"It may make sense for us to have one person ... so that after this initial surge of activity we can have a more regular process just to make sure we are crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is," he said.
Calls for Obama to institute a temporary travel ban grew Thursday, mainly from Republicans who said the growing outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia is creating a greater traveling threat.
But Obama said a ban could increase the instance of travelers avoiding detection.
"They are less likely to get screened and we may have more cases of Ebola rather than less," he said.
Obama spoke at the end of a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, White House chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Frieden, Monaco, and Rice.
Obama on Thursday also authorized the Pentagon to call up reserve and National Guard troops if they are needed to assist in the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Obama signed an executive order that allows the government to call up more forces and for longer periods of time than currently authorized. There is no actual call-up at this point.
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Obama: Ebola point person 'may be appropriate'
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