Friday, October 17, 2014

No-Fly List: Texas Gov. Perry Asks Obama to Bar People With Close Contact to Ebola Patients From Flying

The Wall Street Journal
By Alison Sider

Updated Oct. 17, 2014 1:05 p.m. ET


Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the U.S. should institute a partial travel ban to help stop the spread of the Ebola virus.

“I believe it is the right policy to ban air travel from countries that have been hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak,” Gov. Perry said at a news conference on Friday.

He added that there should be an exception for aid workers, “so they can continue their important work fighting this disease.”

President Barack Obama said Thursday that he wouldn’t object to a travel ban if experts advise one is needed, but said that he hasn’t been advised that it is necessary. Several countries have put temporary travel restrictions in place for West African nations hardest hit by Ebola, such as Liberia.

On Friday, an official said Mr. Obama plans to name Ron Klain, a longtime Democratic aide, as the administration’s “Ebola czar.”

Gov. Perry said Friday it “defies common sense” that people who had been exposed to the disease had traveled outside of the state, or in one case, boarded a cruise ship. He also said he’s asked the president to enforce a no-fly list to prevent people who have been in close proximity to Ebola patients from boarding airplanes.

“He does have the authority,” said Gov. Perry, a Republican. “That is an option I ask him to consider.”

At the state level, Gov. Perry said he lacks the authority to restrict travel—something he said might change. “I would suggest to you that’s one of the things the Legislature is going to address as we go forward,” he said.

Dallas is the site of the first Ebola cases in the U.S. Gov. Perry said there has been ample opportunity for improvement in the response, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all the way down to the local hospital.

“Considering this was the first time Ebola has been diagnosed on American shores, perhaps it’s understandable that mistakes were made, but it’s also unacceptable,” he said.

On Thursday, the Texas Department of State Health Services issued new rules barring dozens of health-care workers who treated Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., from taking public transportation and visiting public places. Judge Clay Jenkins, Dallas County’s highest elected official, said that although the directions restricting workers’ movements are binding, he’s confident that they will voluntary comply.

Earlier this month, Gov. Perry created a task force to focus on the state’s response to the disease. The task force’s initial recommendations, released Friday, include establishing specific Ebola treatment centers, providing more training for health-care workers, and setting up additional diagnostic testing laboratories in different parts of the state.

- Source:  http://online.wsj.com

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