WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is conceding that there were “shortcomings” in the handling of an Ebola patient’s treatment in Texas that ended up with two health care workers testing positive for the disease.
Signaling new urgency on the issue, President Barack Obama today canceled his political travel to meet with his Cabinet on the Ebola outbreak and the new developments in Texas.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest noted that the head of the Centers for Disease Control had declared that even one health care worker being exposed was unacceptable. So with two workers now testing positive, Earnest says, “that is an indication that there were shortcomings.” He told reporters, “It’s not clear what protocols were in place and how those protocols were implemented.”
Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio is calling on Obama to appoint a single administration official to coordinate the U.S. Ebola strategy.
%@AP Links
219-a-11-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“not be constructive”-White House press secretary Josh Earnest says President Obama isn’t playing the blame game on the Ebola response. (15 Oct 2014)
<
206-a-10-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“advantage of it”-White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the administration will do whatever is necessary to combat Ebola. (15 Oct 2014)
<
APPHOTO DCPM102: White House press secretary Josh Earnest speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. Earnest responded to questions regarding the government’s response to the Ebola outbreak. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (15 Oct 2014)
< Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
