Monday, October 20, 2014

Ebola Is Not A Joke, Mr. President

Instead of handling Ebola as a dangerous international threat, President Obama and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are treating the disease as nothing but a joke.

At a news conference last week, Obama made light of the situation, joking that he “hugged and kissed” Emory hospital nurses and that he felt “perfectly safe” while doing so. This type of glib comment goes to show that Obama isn’t taking the threat seriously.

In addition to his comments, Obama’s policies also show that he is routinely underestimating the threat of Ebola. Despite the fact that the vast majority of the public supports banning travel to countries that have the disease, for instance, Obama refuses to institute a travel ban.

It was also recently reported that the CDC allowed several nurses to travel shortly after being exposed to the disease, potentially spreading the virus to other parts of the country.

It is also clear that staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital treating recently deceased patient Thomas Eric Duncan did not wear protective hazardous-material suits for two days until tests conclusively confirmed that he had Ebola.

These kinds of mistakes are ridiculous and unforgivable, and they show just how unprepared the government is to handle this kind of threat.

Instead of cracking stupid jokes, Obama should be doing anything he can — including instituting a travel ban to Africa — that could potentially stop this crisis before it gets out of hand.

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