As the Ebola crisis surges to the top issue on the minds of Americans, a new poll finds that 82 percent of those following the issue closely want to quarantine anybody who has recently traveled to the virus-stricken nations.
The Economist/YouGov poll found that women are more concerned than men and would refuse entry to anybody from those nations. Just 16 percent would allow them into the nation.
The poll is the latest proof that the nation is in an Ebola frenzy that believes Washington and President Obama have fallen down on their job of protecting Americans. For the first time in two months of polling on the issue, more Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the issue than approve.
But the headline is support for banning or quarantining those who have been in the Ebola countries. That is a far more hardline view than limiting or ending flights from the countries, of which there are few.
— 72 percent of all polled believe “we should quarantine people who have recently been in any of the countries in western Africa where there is a major Ebola outbreak.”
— 82 percent of those following the issue very closely want a quarantine
— 56 percent said the federal government should bar those who have “recently” been in Ebola nations from entering the U.S. It rises to 66 percent for those following the issue closely.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
