President Obama pledged support for health care and aid workers in West Africa Tuesday, saying new rules for monitoring them for Ebola once they return to the United States would be "sensible and based on science."
Obama gave brief remarks on the federal response to the disease after speaking with U.S. aid workers on the front lines of battling Ebola in West Africa.
"They're doing God's work over there, and they're doing that to keep us safe, and I want to make sure that every policy we put in place is supportive of their efforts. Because if they are successful, then we're not going to have to worry about Ebola here at home."
Obama's spoke with members of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Disaster Assistance Response Team, a group that has been in West Africa since the first week of August. He also spoke by phone Tuesday with Amber Vinson, one of two Dallas nurses who contracted the disease after treating a Liberian man. He said she is "disease free" and "doing well."
Tomorrow, Obama said, he will meet with health care workers who have treated Ebola patients in West Africa.
Obama did not directly address the controversy over quarantine procedures instituted by the governors of New York and New Jersey, instead focusing his remarks on the international response in West Africa.
"The truth is we're going to have to stay vigilant here at home until we stop the epidemic at its source," Obama said. "What's also critically important is making sure that all the talent, skill, compassion, professionalism, dedication and experience of our folks here can be deployed to help those countries deal with this outbreak at the source."
Obama also defended the military's decision to institute stronger monitoring and isolation measures for returning soldiers than the Centers for Disease Control have recommended for doctors and nurses. The military was ordered to the region, whereas the medical response relies largely on volunteers.
"We don't expect to have similar rules for our military as we do for civilians," he said. "They are already, by definition if they're in the military, under more circumscribed conditions."
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel supports the Army's decision to place soldiers returning from Ebola-related duties in what amounts to 21-day quarantine, Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday sent Hagel a recommendation regarding the monitoring of troops from all services who return from tours in west Africa. Kirby declined to discuss what the recommendation calls for but said that Hagel will act on it soon.
"He hasn't made a decision," Kirby said.
Troops in the region do not have contact with Ebola patients, so the Army's decision to isolate those who return to their bases goes beyond what the Centers for Disease Control recommends. The soldiers, including Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, the top commander for the initial portion of Operation United Assistance, will be sequestered and their health monitored at a post in Vicenza, Italy.
U.S. troops are building hospitals, treatment centers and laboratories in Liberia. As many as 3,900 U.S. forces could be deployed to the region. Fewer than 1,000 are there now.
At the White House daily briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended the Obama Administration's handling of Ebola. Requiring strict quarantines for health workers would "only hinder our Ebola response by dissuading civilian doctors and nurses from travelling to West Africa to stop Ebola in its tracks," he said.
Obama also spoke a day after Australia announced it would ban visas from West African nations stricken with Ebola. Health professionals in the country criticized the decision, saying it would unnecessarily increase fears. "Obviously, individual governments are going to make decisions about what they believe is in the best interest of their populations," Earnest said. "The president has made his own decision about the wisdom of a travel ban."
Earnest again refused to say whether Obama has spoken with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie about disagreements over quarantine policies. "There certainly wasn't a disagreement" over the need to release Kaci Hickox, a Maine nurse returning from West Africa, from quarantine in New Jersey, Earnest said.
Obama also did not respond to a shouted question before getting on a Marine helicopter in route to Wisconsin, where he is scheduled to campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Mary Burke.
Christie told NBC News that he felt no pressure from the White House to allow Hickox to be transferred out of the New Jersey quarantine.
"I have a very good relationship with the White House and we work professionally together and I never felt any (pressure)" Christie said Monday.
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