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Does Ebola panic spread to Washington?

Posted October. 18, 2014 04:34,   

한국어

Concerns are mounting over potential spread of the deadly Ebola virus as Nina Pham, the second person to show Ebola symptoms on U.S. soil, was transferred to the NIH facility adjacent to Washington on Thursday (U.S. local time).

Pham, who had been treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, was moved via private jet to NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Thursday afternoon. At the distance of 18 kilometers from the White House, it takes 30 minutes by car to reach from the White House to the NIH clinical facility. Access to the clinical center was strictly controlled, more than ever.

The police controlled car access and checked ID from families of patients hospitalized at the facility. Reporters’ access to the inside was also restricted. Washington’s local media WUSA9 has a quarrel with the hospital staff as hospital staff rejected the media team’s attempt to put up a live-broadcasting device in front of the clinical center.

Local resident Cheryl Sheffield, who had an interview with this reporter on her way home, revealed her anxiety by saying, “It feels surprising and scary as an Ebola patient is being treated at a facility in front of my home. I can’t believe this situation.”

The U.S. local media has been paying greatest-ever attention to the treatment after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) transferred Pham to the NIH clinical center. As NIH is one of the America’s top four Ebola treatment facilities with the top-level medical experts in the U.S., if it fails to treat the deadly infectious disease, fear over Ebola may spread across the entire nation. In addition, concern is growing that Washington may be directly hit by Ebola if any medical team member is contracted by Ebola during treatment, such as Pham or another Ebola-contracted nurse Amber Vinson.

President Barack Obama canceled all outside schedules and had meetings with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to put utmost efforts to prevent spread of Ebola. On the same day, President Obama met with reporters and said it may be appropriate to accept the request from Republican lawmakers including Sen. John McCain to appoint "Ebola Czar (chief officer for the specific subject)." Regarding responsibilities of CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who is being blamed for failure to contain Ebola at earlier stages, Obama said, "It may be appropriate for me to appoint an additional person, not because they haven`t been doing an outstanding job, really working hard on this issue, but they are also responsible for a whole bunch of other stuff.”

Washington Correspondent Lee Seung-heon (ddr@donga.com)