White House: We Won’t Stop People From Ebola-Stricken Countries Coming To US

The Daily Caller ^ | 10/1/2014 | Neil Munro

[markomalley]

White House spokesman Josh Earnest rebuffed questions Oct. 1 about a possible federal ban on travel from Ebola-stricken countries, and said the president will rely instead on government medical professionals to contain imported epidemics.

“These are the experts, they have a keen understanding of how to prevent the spread of this disease,” he said, adding “we can stop the spread of Ebola in its tracks.”

“What are the conditions under which the President would order or want to see travel restrictions?” asked one reporter.

“We are confident that the sophisticated medical infrastructure that exists here in the United States can prevent the wide spread of Ebola,” Earnest said.

“Doesn’t that imply that we’re willing to accept a certain number of people coming into this country who will be diagnosed and develop Ebola once they’re here?” the reporter asked.

“We live in a global world, and what we’re confident that we can do is to both protect the safety of the traveling public and … protect the broader American public by rigorously applying the kind of medical protocols that are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control,” Earnest replied.

The president picked a bad week for putting additional faith in government professionals.

Earnest spoke Oct. 1, shortly after he had announced the resignation of Julia Pierson, the veteran leader of the professional security agents in the United States Secret Service. Pierson’s resignation came after a series of high-profile security flubs had exposed the president to lethal attacks, and one day after Earnest said that Obama has full confidence in the secret service director.

Earnest’s statement also came only a few days after Obama has blamed mistakes by the professional intelligence officials for the U.S. failure to block the spread of the jihadis group in northern Iraq.

Earnest’s statement also came on the same day that officials announced a possible second case of Ebola in the country, following the unhindered arrival of a disease-carrier on Sept. 20th. The new victim may have contracted the disease after medical professionals sent the Ebola carrier home after a flawed medical check on Sept. 24.

The two Ebola cases may be politically damaging to Obama, partly because public confidence in Obama’s management has already fallen.

On Sept. 16, Obama minimized the danger of Ebola infections in the United States. “In the unlikely event that someone with Ebola does reach our shores, we’ve taken new measures so that we’re prepared here at home,” he said Sept. 16.

On Sept. 30, federal officials announced that the carrier had flown from Liberia into the United States on Sept. 20, and had began to show obvious symptoms of the disease on the 24th. Disease-carriers can transmit the disease once they have symptoms. But a person can be infected with the disease, and not show any symptoms, for up to 21 days.

The Liberian is now being treated in a Dallas hospital, and federal officials are trying to contact and monitor everyone — including several children — who were in contact with him. Additional travelers to the United States are likely, partly because U.S. health-centers are much better than African hospitals.

Earnest tried to downplay the president’s Sept. 16 “unlikely event” comment.

“You might be slightly over-parsing what the President said, because when he delivered those remarks there had been at least a couple of health care professionals who had been trying to provide medical services to Ebola victims in Africa who had been returned to the United States for treatment,” Earnest said at the Oct. 1 press conference. “So obviously these individuals who had contracted Ebola in the performance of their medical work were on the shores of the United States of America,” he claimed.

The State Department has given visas to roughly 13,500 people from the Ebola-stricken countries of Sierra Leon, Guinea and Liberia, according to federal data.

The data doesn’t show how many of those people are already in the United States, but visitors from those countries should be excluded until they can show they’re free of Ebola, said Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies.

“It would be reasonable to designate Ebola as a communicable disease of public health significance [because] that would enable the State Department to impose tighter restrictions on visitors” countries with Ebola outbreaks, she said.

Under current policies, only people with obvious symptoms — principally, a high temperature — are excluded by immigration officials.

[Buckeye McFrog]

We live in a global world

Our Founding Fathers must spin in their graves every time they hear that.

As does my high-school English teacher.

[Enlightened1]

Well as soon as people start dying in mass over here, then there will be a revolt.

It will be World War Z.

[IMR 4350]

“Sounds like an encouragement to come.”

Same as with the illegals. By telling illegals we wont stop you and provide for you when you get here was clearly encouragement to illegals to come.

We wont stop people from these countries from coming is clearly encouragement to “Ebola tourist” to come and our medical facilities will take care of you.

[Jim Noble]

That implies a theoretical hypothesis for prevention. The rubber is actually hitting the road as we post and a determination as to the validity of the hypothesis is going to be tested

Yup. In a mere 3 weeks, the CDC hypothesis (which is what it is) about EHFV transmission in the urbanized West will have been tested and either affirmed or refuted.

[patriot08]

B

[nothingnew]

All black maled into silence.

Is this a freudian slip or a obamaian slip?

FMCDH(BITS)

[Gator113]

Obama is making it so very easy for those who hate us and want our country destroyed.

I can not imagine any terrorist organization not taking full advantage of this situation.

Simply cause innocent and unsuspecting travelers to become infected just prior to boarding an airplane bound for America. This would actually be very easy to do.

Imagine 30 to 50 airliners in route to America with this bug onboard. A week later, infect another 30 to 50 airliners, and so on.

Tinfoil hat: Has this already happened and will we learn about in late October in time for marshal law to be implemented with a phone call or a magic pen??

[Augie]

The hubris of these people never ceases to amaze...

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping...

A link to this thread has been posted on the Ebola Surveillance Thread

[RinaseaofDs]

John, you are supposed to MARK THIS AS SATIRE!

What?

Oh my.

On a serious note, this is going to require a response from Congress. Ebola is a national security threat. Period.

They must think they have an ace up their sleeve.

[blam]

"Almost.. almost looks like a willful intent to allow ebola to get a foothold in this country..."

Of course it is. He'll do anything to harm the hateful Americans.

We need an AMERICAN president, NOW!

[GOPJ]

Obama puts out the welcome mat - Give us your sick and dying - yearning for free medical care...

[metmom]

White House spokesman Josh Earnest rebuffed questions Oct. 1 about a possible federal ban on travel from Ebola-stricken countries, and said the president will rely instead on government medical professionals to contain imported epidemics.

That's like putting FEMA in charge of disaster relief.

The Titanic is sinking and the band is plying.

It's bread and circuses time.

[null and void]

The game of Ebola Roulette continues...

*click* spin *click* spin *click* spin…BANG!

Eeeee-bolllll-aaaaaa ping!

Bring Out Your Dead

We’re gonna need

a bigger cart!

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

So far the false positive rate is 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

“We live in a global world, and what we’re confident that we can do is to both protect the safety of the traveling public and … protect the broader American public by rigorously applying the kind of medical protocols that are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control,” Earnest replied.

What a disgusting Utopian!

PING!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Chgogal]

President Obola - Stupid is as Stupid does.

[Chgogal]

Also another Stupid President Obola move:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/10/01/FLASHBACK-Obama-administration-dumps-quarantine-rules

[Smokin' Joe]

You’re Welcome, Alamo-Girl!

[SunkenCiv]

> White House spokesman Josh Earnest rebuffed questions Oct. 1 about a possible federal ban on travel from Ebola-stricken countries, and said the president will rely instead on government medical professionals to contain imported epidemics. “These are the experts, they have a keen understanding of how to prevent the spread of this disease,” ...

IOW, Obama and his cadre are denialists regarding our need for quarantining Ebola. Thanks m.