The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have caused havoc in Northeastern Ohio after telling Amber Joy Vinson, who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan as he was dying, that it was safe for her to board a plane with a fever. She was diagnosed with Ebola shortly after returning to Dallas.
Vinson returned to her home state of Ohio to plan her wedding. The bridal store she shopped at is now closed out of caution. Several schools are also closed for decontamination after it was reported that students or staff had contact with Vinson during her trip.
Panic and concern is even more contagious than Ebola. With our federal government failing to properly plan or protect citizens, the public is on edge. A Cleveland man is being held on $10,000 bond after making a joke about Ebola in a Casino. While perhaps it is not appropriate to joke about the deadly virus, it is hard to think this is a crime when compared to the failures and incompetencies of the CDC.
There has been a sharp cry for a ban on flights from countries in West Africa affected by Ebola. Texas Senator Ted Cruz is leading this charge. One of Texas’s largest health care systems told him they were only equipped to handle six Ebola patients at any given time. Given how contagious the killer virus is, this could be catastrophic to the nation. He says a more aggressive approach is needed.
“The federal government has implemented screenings at five major American airports for passengers arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Notably, the screenings don’t include other airports like DFW, where Duncan arrived.
This is not enough. The screenings are not effective if the patient is not symptomatic, and the Ebola virus has an incubation period of up to 21 days. During that time, an Ebola carrier presents no symptoms and is not contagious. Anyone traveling during those 21 days will likely walk right through the screening.
Banning flights from the afflicted countries is a prudent, common-sense step until the epidemic is brought under control.”
Now it is being reported that a healthcare worker who handled Duncan’s blood is on a Caribbean Cruise. He left for the cruise before the CDC notified staff of the requirement to monitor themselves for Ebola. The man has voluntarily confined himself to the cabin.
Conservatives point out that much of this alarm could have been prevented had the government banned flights from the affected nations earlier. Democrats on the subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee have been siding with Obama and say a ban is not warranted.
“There’s no such thing as fortress America when it comes to infectious disease,” Diana DeGette (D-CO) said. “The best way to stop Ebola is going to be to stop this virus in Africa.”
President Obama today appointed Ron Klain to be the Ebola Czar. Klain’s experience is political rather than medical. He is well known for heading Al Gore’s recount in Florida during the 2000 Presidential election and also overseeing the distribution of funds from the stimulus package. Since the President has made a patronage appointment to the newly created Czar position, it is unlikely to stir confidence among the general public concerned about contracting the killer virus.
Do you agree with Ted Cruz that flights arriving from Ebola-stricken nations should be banned from entering the United States?