White House: Obama Briefed On First U.S. Ebola Case
The White House announced Tuesday evening that President Barack Obama had been briefed on the first case of Ebola in the U.S., reportedly being carried by a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas.
The White House said in a statement that the president had been briefed of the patient's condition and "strict isolation" by Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The President and Director Frieden discussed the stringent isolation protocols under which the patient is being treated as well as ongoing efforts to trace the patient's contacts to mitigate the risk of additional cases," the White House said this evening. "Dr. Frieden noted that the CDC had been prepared for an Ebola case in the United States, and that we have the infrastructure in place to respond safely and effectively."
The Dallas-area hospital announced in a press release yesterday that a patient who had recently traveled to the U.S. from Liberia had tested positive for the deadly virus that has wiped out over 3,000 of West Africa's population.
Some, including MSNBC's Chris Matthews, have criticized Obama for previously saying that the odds of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. were "extremely low."
"Obama said it was unlikely. It has happened. It's here," Matthews said on the Tuesday night airing of "Hardball" on MSNBC.
While speaking at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on Sept. 16, Obama had said that the odds of the virus reaching the U.S. were low.
"Our experts here at the CDC and across our government agree that the chances of an Ebola outbreak here in the United States are extremely low. We've been taking the necessary precautions, including working with countries in West Africa to increase screening at airports so that someone with the virus doesn't get on a plane for the United States," Obama said.
