The new US Ebola “czar” started work yesterday and a military medical team began training as the Obama administration ramps up its response to the potential spread of the virus in the United States.
The Pentagon’s 30-member emergency team, including 5 doctors, 20 critical care nurses and 5 trainers who are experts in infectious disease protocols, were scheduled yesterday to gather at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the creation of the rapid-response team to support civilian medical personnel after three people were infected in the United States with the virus that has killed more than 4,500 people, mostly in West Africa.
The administration has ratcheted up its response but has so far stopped short of a travel ban from West Africa, demanded by some lawmakers.
The Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday that travelers from three countries at the center of the epidemic would be funneled to one of five major US airports conducting enhanced screening for the virus. Restrictions on passengers whose trips originated in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea were due to go into effect on Wednesday.
Affected travelers will have their temperatures checked for signs of a fever that may indicate Ebola infection, among other protocols, at New York’s John F. Kennedy, New Jersey’s Newark, Washington Dulles, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, and Chicago’s O’Hare International airports, officials said.
