Obama on Ebola fight: US can't seal itself off
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama said Wednesday the United States was not immune to the disease but cautioned against discouraging American health care workers with restrictive measures that confine them upon their return from West Africa. "We can't hermetically seal ourselves off," he declared.
Obama said doctors and nurses from the United States who have volunteered to fight Ebola in West Africa are American heroes who must be treated with dignity and respect.
"Yes, we are likely to see a possible case elsewhere outside of these countries, and that's true whether or not we adopt a travel ban, whether or not you adopt a quarantine," Obama said from the White House, surrounded by health care workers who have volunteered or will volunteer to serve in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea, where the disease has killed nearly 5,000.
"We have to keep in mind that if we're discouraging our health care workers, who are prepared to make these sacrifices, from traveling to these places in need, then we're not doing our job in terms of looking after our own public health and safety," he added.
