President Obama defended his administration’s handling of the Ebola crisis, subtly taking aim Tuesday at governors who issued guidelines for combating the disease that went beyond recommendations made by the White House.
“We don’t want to discourage our healthcare workers from going to the front lines,” Obama said in brief remarks after a conference call with United States Agency for International Development workers fighting Ebola in West Africa.
“We don’t just react based on our fears,” he added. “We react based on facts and judgment and making smart decisions.”
The White House has been on the defensive over confusion in the wake of conflicting Ebola response policies at the federal and state levels.
Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey implemented 21-day quarantines on those returning to their states from Ebola-stricken nations in West Africa. The Army also issued a similar order to a dozen soldiers who had been deployed to West Africa.
Though Obama never mentioned Cuomo and Christie by name, his remarks were a clear rebuke of their decisions to quarantine those who had not yet exhibited Ebola symptoms.
The president also noted that just two people had contracted the virus on American soil — and added that both nurses have since been declared Ebola-free.
“This disease can be contained,” he said. “It will be defeated. Progress is possible.”
Obama is attempting to showcase his administration’s handling of the crisis and assuage concerns about a disease that has claimed thousands of lives in West Africa.
The Obama administration on Monday recommended voluntary at-home isolation for health workers who had treated the Ebola virus in West Africa. However, states are still free to pursue their own guidelines.
Obama made the latest of his increasingly frequent Ebola remarks before heading to Wisconsin on Tuesday to campaign for Democratic governor candidate Mary Burke.
