A White House petition urging the Obama administration to change its position on allowing flights from Ebola-stricken countries into the United States has received 22,262 signatures in less than two weeks.
The petition states: “Experts had stated it was ‘highly unlikely’ that Ebola would show up on American soil. But now it has, in the City of Dallas, Texas, brought here by an individual who entered our country from the West African nation of Liberia, where Ebola is rampant.”
The petition continues, “We do not want any more Ebola-infected individuals bringing the epidemic to our shores. The longer we allow people to enter our country from Ebola-stricken areas, the higher the chance another person infected with Ebola will arrive here, putting ALL our citizens at risk. Please tell the FAA to ban ALL incoming flights from any/all Ebola-stricken regions.”
In order to receive an official White House response, the petition must receive 100,000 signatures by October 31.
An NBC News poll taken a day before the Liberian man who brought Ebola to America was diagnosed found that 58% of Americans support halting travel to Ebola-stricken areas.