Posted on 10/02/2014 4:55:51 PM PDT by Kaslin
I hope Duncan gets well soon, partly for his own sake and partly because I’m keen to hear why he didn’t mention to airport screeners that he helped carry an Ebola victim a few days before his flight.
So is the Liberian government.
On the form obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by a government official, Thomas Eric Duncan answered “no” to questions about whether he had cared for an Ebola patient or touched the body of someone who had died in an area affected by Ebola…
At the time Duncan left for the U.S., it’s not clear if he knew of the woman’s diagnosis. Officials have said Duncan was showing no symptoms when he boarded the plane and he was therefore not contagious. Ebola can only be spread through the bodily fluids of people showing signs of the disease.
“He will be prosecuted” when he returns to Liberia, Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the board of directors of the Liberia Airport Authority, told reporters.
He said that people like Duncan and Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American with Ebola who traveled to Nigeria and infected people there, have brought a “stigma” upon Liberians living abroad.
He had no inkling that a woman who was sick too walk in the middle of an Ebola outbreak in Liberia might have Ebola? That should have warranted at least a “possibly” on the ol’ questionnaire, huh?
Two points here. One: Unless I’ve missed something, apart from the questionnaire, the only test for whether passengers from west Africa might be carrying Ebola is a temperature reading on their foreheads, which will be useless in many cases (like Duncan’s) since some people with the disease aren’t symptomatic yet during their travels. The Times calls the system, with precious understatement, “spotty.” If the screening is as weak as that and a ban on flights from west Africa is out of the question for whatever reason, why on earth did Obama say it was “unlikely” that we’d end up with Ebola cases here? Seems like a lead-pipe cinch that we would end up with them. Eventually, someone who was sick but asymptomatic would lie about his contact with a victim and get on a plane. Frankly, I’d be surprised if the weak screening has blocked many people with Ebola from getting on flights. Presumably a few have been pulled out of line because they’re running a fever, but how many of those people had the disease and how many had high body temperatures for more mundane reasons?
Two: Should Duncan be prosecuted? Ace worries that if you throw jail time into the mix, Liberians who fear they might have Ebola will panic and become more determined to conceal their symptoms, putting the people around them at risk. I can understand that as a matter of Liberian domestic policy; you want people to feel as comfortable as possible in reporting their symptoms so that you can treat them (and isolate them) ASAP. But you also don’t want them getting on planes, and the prospect of jail time if they decide to fly when they fear they might be infected would deter that. No? What am I missing here?
Oh, by the way, Duncan did tell the staff at the hospital in Dallas that he’d just come from Liberia when he first showed up sick to the ER last week. They sent him home with antibiotics.
He ain’t coming back no moh.
“He will be prosecuted” “when he returns to Liberia”
its more likely that if he does return it may be in a body bag. making prosecution somewhat moot.
He will easily fit into one of our asylum catagories.
No problem !
If he doesn’t die, because of this threat he will be granted asylum in U.S.
Yeah, it would not surprise me if that arrogant pos occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania grants him permanent residency and perhaps even American citizenship
repressed dead liberians....a new category..
Our Kenyan Kommie will declare him a “refugee” because if he goes back home, he’ll be put in jail where he belongs. Kenyan Kommie Political Korrectness is going to kill all of us.
Uh, this may sound odd but if we were deliberately trying to spread Ebola around the globe exactly what would be going on that would be noticeably different from the current reality?
I can name several things that would be different if a REAL effort were being made to PREVENT the spread of Ebola.
The guy will be offered a job in the White Hut if he survives.
Duncan knew what he was doing.
He knew he was probably infected and that his odds of surviving in Liberia were poor.
So he came here to get free hospital care.
And our stupid government lets these people in with no screening.
The USA had smarter and better government back in the 1890’s when they were screening immigrants through Ellis Island.
Now they let just about anyone waltz in.
And as the minutes tick away more airplanes are being loaded in West Africa for their trip to the US. Luckily, highly trained medical personnel are asking each passenger, prior to departure, “are you sick with Ebola which would require us to remove you from this flight and quarantine you with some really sick people until you either die or are cleared for the flight....?”
I would suggest that we gather ALL ebola patients in the US and send them to a WDC hospital for treatment.
This may make our government pay more attention to the seriousness of this disease.
Similarly, all illegal aliens should be sent directly to WDC and housed there awaiting a further solution.
Of course, and in his case with all the attendant celebrity involved
that would require relying on what we used to call “common sense”....
Remember, this is Texas. If anybody gets ebola from him a relative might just seek revenge.
I just read in another article that the 19yo Liberian woman’s symptoms (convulsions) were believed to be related to her pregnancy. (She was seven months along.) That’s why the family members didn’t worry about coming into contact with her.
But, the question is, what did the Liberian hospital say when she arrived? And did Duncan know that she died from Ebola before he boarded a flight out of Liberia? The articles out there just aren’t very clear right now. We’re getting information in bits and pieces.
And Hot Air brings up a good point: If you come into contact with an Ebola patient, as you’re leaving that country to seek help in the U.S., what would stop you from lying? How would prosecuting these people help if they believe they’re going to die, anyway?
The only solution is to halt travel to and from the places most affected.
According to articles on statements by the family, I suspect that the Presbyterian Hospital is in for a lawsuit. Lots of “failed to connect the dots,” etc. going on.
He knew he was probably infected and that his odds of surviving in Liberia were poor.
So he came here to get free hospital care.
If that's true, why didn't he assert his claim to free hospital care on his first visit?
"Hey Doc! What's with your stinkin' antibiotic prescription? All you're doing is promoting antibiotic-resistant bacteria! Didn't the nurse tell you I'm from Liberia? I handled an Ebola patient ten days ago! I need ZMapp! Stat! Get on the stick, already!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.