President Obama on Thursday evening defended his administration’s handling of the Ebola virus but said he may designate a point person to lead the Ebola response in the U.S.
He also said it’s premature to call for an outright travel ban from countries significantly affected by Ebola.
Under pressure to appoint an “Ebola czar,” the president praised his team of Ebola advisers, including Centers for Disease Control Director Thomas Frieden and Lisa Monaco, his top counterterrorism adviser, for doing “an outstanding job.” But he said because his team has other priorities, he is considering appointing an additional person to deal with the virus.
“It may make sense for us to have one person … just so that after this initial surge of activity we can have a more regular process,” he said.
The president said he isn’t “philosophically opposed” to a flight ban on passengers traveling from countries affected by Ebola, as many Republicans have called for, “if that is a thing that will keep people safe.” But he said healthcare experts have advised him against such a move for now because screening and quarantine measures for travelers already put in place will be more affective in containing the disease.
A rigid travel ban, he said, could force Ebola patients underground, making it nearly impossible to track their movements — a scenario that could make the epidemic worse.
“We may end up getting less information [with a travel ban] about who has the disease, they’re less likely to get treated properly — screened properly, quarantined properly — and as a consequence we could end up having more cases rather than less,” he said.
“Currently the judgment of all involved is that a flat-out travel ban is not the way to go.”
The president repeatedly called for the nation to stay calm, saying the Americans shouldn’t panic because the disease “is really hard to catch.”
“I understand that people are scared,” he said. But “this is not an airborne disease, this is not easy to catch …. So it’s important for all of us to keep perspective in terms of how we handle this. We are taking this very seriously at the highest level, starting with me.”
The president also said authorities are tracking and monitoring anyone who has been in contact with a Dallas nurse that traveled to Texas over the weekend before being diagnosed with Ebola.
Earlier in the day the president, who canceled a Thursday campaign trip to stay at the White House and focus on Ebola, signed an executive order authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to help combat Ebola in West Africa.
The Pentagon has committed to send up to 4,000 military personnel to West Africa to provide logistics and humanitarian assistance to help fight a disease that has claimed almost 4,500 lives there. The National Guard would augment such efforts.
The White House said the troops will not be providing direct health care aid.
