By Nicole Roman, Account Executive
According to late night comedian, Seth Meyers, a new poll shows that only a slim majority of Americans think the country is prepared for an Ebola outbreak. But I think we deal with outbreaks pretty well. It only took us a couple of months to completely eradicate Gangnam Style! As much as people want to joke about this deadly disease, it is very scary and has found its way here to the United States.
Two schools in the Cleveland area canceled classes Thursday because a nurse who has been diagnosed with the disease flew on the same Frontier Airlines plane as a school staffer. President Obama has canceled travel plans to stay at the White House and oversee crisis control.
While Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms and only two people are known to have contracted the disease in the U.S., the revelations raised more alarms about whether hospitals and the public health system are equipped to handle the deadly disease. Federal health officials were being called to testify today before a congressional committee to explain where things went wrong.
Questions still remain on how the Dallas nurse contracted Ebola.
We will not feel safe unless we ban travel to and from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Why isn’t the President calling for a travel ban from West Africa? If our fundamental job is to protect American public President Obama has the authority to impose a travel ban. South Africa has stayed Ebola free by banning non-essential travel from countries with the Ebola outbreak.
Is Ebola a crisis?
I don’t believe it’s a crisis yet. Right now one person has died. It is one too many but the time is now to prepare, educate and train hospital staff and get in front of the problem. Dallas’ Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital admits they have failed to adequately train healthcare workers and provide necessary protective gear. Other hospitals around the country can take a proactive approach to make sure that they take the proper protocols and equipment to treat potential future Ebola patients. We need our lawmakers and the Centers for Disease Control to protect us and there should be no gray area or any room for shortcuts in doing so.