President Obama talked about the spread of Ebola at the CDC in Atlanta today. He said it’s “spiraling out of control,” according to the pool report.
“It is getting worse. It’s spreading faster and exponentially. Today thousands of people in West africa are infected. That number could rapidly grow to tens of thousands.”
“And if the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people infected with profound political and economic and security implications for all of us.”
Here’s the pool report:
The president gave a speech of 12 minutes at the CDC which was carried on tv networks.
He said that West Africa is facing a very difficult situation and an already weak public health system was near collapse.
He said that the Ebola epidemic is “spiraling out of control.”
“It is getting worse. It’s spreading faster and exponentially. Today thousands of people in West africa are infected. That number could rapidly grow to tens of thousands.”
“And if the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people infected with profound political and economic and security implications for all of us.”
The president reiterated that US experts agree that the “chances of an Ebola outbreak here in the United States are extremely low.”
Obama then talked about the details of the plan to combat Ebola which the White House has previewed.
He said that the images and stories from West Africa were “gut wrenching.”
He quoted a relative of a family that fell victim to Ebola as saying “These men and women and children are just sitting, waiting to die. Right now. And it doesn’t have to be this way.”
He said the epidemic will get worse before it gets better.
“But right now, the world still has an opportunity to save countless lives. Right now, the world has a responsibility to act, to step up and to do more.”
“We have to act fast, we can’t dawdle on this one.”
“We know that if we take the proper steps, we can save lives.”
Motorcade is now heading back to airport.
He said that West Africa is facing a very difficult situation and an already weak public health system was near collapse.
He said that the Ebola epidemic is “spiraling out of control.”
“It is getting worse. It’s spreading faster and exponentially. Today thousands of people in West africa are infected. That number could rapidly grow to tens of thousands.”
“And if the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people infected with profound political and economic and security implications for all of us.”
The president reiterated that US experts agree that the “chances of an Ebola outbreak here in the United States are extremely low.”
Obama then talked about the details of the plan to combat Ebola which the White House has previewed.
He said that the images and stories from West Africa were “gut wrenching.”
He quoted a relative of a family that fell victim to Ebola as saying “These men and women and children are just sitting, waiting to die. Right now. And it doesn’t have to be this way.”
He said the epidemic will get worse before it gets better.
“But right now, the world still has an opportunity to save countless lives. Right now, the world has a responsibility to act, to step up and to do more.”
“We have to act fast, we can’t dawdle on this one.”
“We know that if we take the proper steps, we can save lives.”
Motorcade is now heading back to airport.
