In response to critics from the Republican camp who want the administration to take a more aggressive stance towards Ebola, the President said that the country cannot immediately seal itself off immediately from West Africa.
In his weekly radio address, Obama said, “We can’t give in to hysteria or fear, because that only makes it harder to get people the accurate information they need. If we’re guided by science — the facts, not fear — then I am absolutely confident we can prevent a serious outbreak here in the United States.”
Taking such action will prevent healthcare workers, soldiers to reach areas that have been hardest by Ebola in West Africa but also cause a number of them stricken by this incurable disease to evade screening while making their way to either Europe or Asia.
With these fears now spread over the United States, a number of urgent-care clinics have been set up to identify any other Ebola cases especially due to people who have recently traveled to West Africa and back.
In most cases, these clinics have been filled with patients who have requested for Ebola tests even if they aren’t sick yet. In fact, and in one case, a patient asked for a test as he had visited Alaska which could, according to him, be vulnerable to this disease since it was a port city.
Obama has calmly suggested that the possibility of an outbreak is unlikely as it is much harder to get than the flu. Ebola is transmitted due to the exchange of bodily fluids with someone who is showing symptoms of the disease.