President Obama announced additional airport screenings to detect Ebola on Monday, shortly after meeting with government officials on the deadly disease ravaging Africa.
Obama spoke briefly with the White House press pool spray after the meeting answering two questions about the disease from the reporters present.
“We are familiar with the protocols that are needed to isolate and greatly reduce the risks of anybody catching this disease, but it requires us to follow those protocols strictly and that’s exactly what we are in the process of doing,” Obama said after the meeting.
Administration officials Susan Rice, Samantha Power, Valerie Jarrett, and John Kerry were among those present at the meeting, while Vice President Joe Biden appeared via a video conferencing system.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Center of Disease Control Thomas Frieden, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell were also present for the meeting.
Obama expressed confidence in the health infrastructure, as long as they were following the proper steps with the right information.
“All of these things make me confident that here in the United States, at least, the chances of an outbreak — of an epidemic here are extraordinarily low,” Obama said, reminding everyone present that “as we speak, there are children on the streets dying of this disease” in Africa.
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