US presses NY, NJ to reverse quarantine

The Obama administration is putting pressure on New York and New Jersey to reverse a mandatory quarantine for medics who have treated Ebola patients in West Africa, a report says.

The administration has expressed serious concerns to the governors of New York and New Jersey and is pleading with them to take another approach, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Senior administration officials have been in contact with Governor Andrew Cuomo and Governor Chris Christie since Friday, when they announced a 21-day quarantine for all doctors and other travelers who have had contact with people infected with the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa.

“These actions that we are taking are necessary to protect the health of the people of New Jersey and New York,” said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. “Governor Cuomo and I agreed quarantine was the right way to go. We have the legal authority to do it. We are doing it.”

They also announced additional screening protocols at JFK and Newark international airports.

A senior Obama administration official said on Sunday, “We have been taking a close look at policies for returning healthcare workers, recognizing that these medical professionals’ selfless efforts to fight this disease on the frontlines will be critical to bringing this epidemic under control, the only way to eliminate the risk of additional cases here at home.”

“We have let the governors of New York, New Jersey, and others states know that we have concerns with the unintended consequences of policies not grounded in science may have on efforts to combat Ebola at its source in West Africa,” the official said.

On Thursday, Dr. Craig Spencer tested positive for Ebola upon returning to New York after treating patients in Guinea.

Spencer, a physician for the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, became the fourth person diagnosed with the disease in the US and the first in its largest city.

There is currently no known cure for Ebola, which is a form of hemorrhagic fever with diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding as its symptoms.

The epidemic has already killed 4,922 out of the 10,141 known cases in eight countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

GJH/GJH

Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/10/27/383743/us-presses-ny-nj-to-reverse-quarantine/

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