WASHINGTON, D.C. — The first nurse to test positive for the Ebola virus in the U.S. is en route to a federal hospital outside of our nation’s capitol. Nina Pham should arrive in Maryland late Thursday night. Fellow nurses gathered around her ambulance to show support as she left Texas Thursday night.
Pham contracted Ebola after treating a man with ties to the Charlotte area. Now, there’s a new round of finger-pointing over how she and another nurse caught the deadly virus.
The CDC admits there were mistakes in the handling of Thomas Eric Duncan, but stresses the virus is under control. The CDC director believes the new Ebola response team will help all hospitals establish and follow protocols. He’s also trying to convince members of Congress that the big threat is not here, but in West Africa.
“One of the things I fear about Ebola is that it could spread more widely in Africa. If this were to happen, if could become a threat to our health system,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden.
President Obama signed an executive order Thursday, giving the Pentagon the ability to deploy the National Guard and reservists to support Ebola operations in West Africa.
