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posted by LaminatorX on Saturday October 11 2014, @09:39AM   Printer-friendly
from the this-porage-is-just-right dept.

Russell Berman writes in the Atlantic that the Obama administration is trying to navigate a tricky course: Can officials increase public vigilance about the deadly virus without inciting a panic? "Ebola is scary. It's a deadly disease. But we know how to stop it," says Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC director speaking "calmly and clearly, sticking to an even pitch and avoiding the familiar political image of the whip-smart fast-talker." International groups wanted the US to step in sooner to help fight the outbreak in west Africa, while more recently some Republicans have called on the administration to ban travel from the most affected countries but Frieden and other officials say such a move would be counterproductive, citing lessons learned from the SARS outbreak a decade ago. "The SARS outbreak cost the world more than $40 billion, but it wasn't to control the outbreak," says Frieden. "Those were costs from unnecessary and ineffective travel restrictions and trade changes that could have been avoided." The government announced Wednesday that it was stepping up protective measures at five airports, where authorities will screen travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea with targeted questions and fever checks, an action, officials acknowledge that was taken not only to stop the spread of the disease but simply to make people feel safer. According to Berman the message, it seems to be, is this: Be afraid of Ebola. Just not too afraid.

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 11 2014, @06:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 11 2014, @06:37PM (#104836)

    I head this a lot but I don't understand it. Why exactly would flight restrictions stop the flow of aid/aid workers? When you stop the air travel to and from those countries you are only stopping the commercial flights. Have the military ship them in on military flights. Trust me the Air Force is good at moving personnel/supplies.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 12 2014, @12:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 12 2014, @12:35AM (#104915)

    > Trust me the Air Force is good at moving personnel/supplies.

    But they are shit at executing brand new and untested processes, and that's exactly what you are proposing they do.