Donald Trump just weighed in on a global health emergency that is spreading fear across two continents. The president addressed the Ebola outbreak after the CDC confirmed an American had tested positive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Donald Trump talks about Ebola breakout
Donald Trump just addressed a growing global health scare that has put world leaders on high alert. CNBC reports the president expressed concern about Ebola after an American tested positive in Africa on Monday. Trump spoke during a White House event promoting his administration’s consumer-drug website, TrumpRx.
“I’m concerned about everything, but certainly [I] am,” Trump said when asked about the outbreak. He added that the disease has “been confined right now to Africa.” The president also acknowledged that “it’s something that has had a breakout.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier confirmed that one American tested positive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The individual developed symptoms over the weekend and received a positive result late Sunday night. Dr. Satish Pillai, the CDC’s Ebola response incident manager, shared these details with reporters on a call.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global public health emergency just one day earlier. The Ebola-causing virus known as Bundibugyo currently appears in both the DRC and Uganda. However, the WHO specified that it “does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency.”
Heidi Overton, a physician on Trump’s Domestic Policy Council, addressed the administration’s response at the event. She confirmed that officials have “stood up a full interagency response” to the ongoing outbreak. Overton also stated that the symptomatic American and “six other high-risk contacts” would be transported to Germany.
She reassured the public by noting that no Ebola cases currently exist within the United States. Overton added that officials “are doing everything we can to support Americans in the region.” Trump previously criticized Barack Obama’s handling of a separate Ebola outbreak in 2014, repeatedly on social media. The current situation now places his own administration’s public health response under similar scrutiny from observers.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
