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| Ban Ki-moon criticises Ebola restrictions placed on healthcare workers | Ban Ki-moon criticises Ebola restrictions placed on healthcare workers |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| As the UN secretary general criticised restrictions being placed on healthcare workers returning to the US after treating Ebola patients, the White House insisted on Monday that is up to state and local authorities to decide whether to follow national scientific guidelines on quarantines. | |
| After the governors of New York and New Jersey relaxed new quarantine measures that were criticised by the White House and medical professionals, Ban said in a statement that he was concerned by controls being placed on medics arriving in the US and elsewhere. | After the governors of New York and New Jersey relaxed new quarantine measures that were criticised by the White House and medical professionals, Ban said in a statement that he was concerned by controls being placed on medics arriving in the US and elsewhere. |
| “Returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity,” said Ban in a statement released by the UN. “They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science. Those who develop infections should be supported, not stigmatised.” | “Returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity,” said Ban in a statement released by the UN. “They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science. Those who develop infections should be supported, not stigmatised.” |
| The secretary general’s criticism came shortly after New Jersey authorities said that a nurse who was confined to a quarantine tent with a portable toilet and no shower, despite showing no symptoms after returning to the US from treating patients in Sierra Leone, would be released and allowed to return to her home to Maine. | |
| The White House blamed federalism for the confused US response to Ebola quarantines, preferring indirect criticism of detention policies. | |
| “In some ways, you can sort of take this up with James Madison, right?,” said Obama spokesman Josh Earnest when asked about the patchwork response. “We have a federal system in this country in which states are given significant authority for governing their constituents. That is certainly true when it comes to public safety and public health.” | |
| Further clarification on best scientific practice is expected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later on Monday, but the fragmented response even among federal agencies has raised questions about the role of Ron Klein, who was appointed two weeks ago to coordinate a “whole of government response”. | |
| Even the branches of the federal government seem to be in disagreement over how to respond to workers who may have been exposed to Ebola. | |
| On Monday, the US Department of Defense confirmed that about a dozen troops who had been in Liberia as part of an operation to help tackle the Ebola outbreak were being quarantined in Italy after returning to base in Vicenza and reportedly met by police in hazmat suits. | |
| Earnest said decision to quarantine returning US troops in Italy was taken by local commanders and did not yet reflect official Department of Defense policy. | |
| A US defense official told the Guardian the soldiers were being monitored at a “separate location” out of “an abundance of caution”, adding: “None of these individuals have shown any symptoms of exposure.” The official confirmed that the troops are not allowed to leave the location. | A US defense official told the Guardian the soldiers were being monitored at a “separate location” out of “an abundance of caution”, adding: “None of these individuals have shown any symptoms of exposure.” The official confirmed that the troops are not allowed to leave the location. |
| The official said that among those being monitored is Major General Darryl Williams, the US army’s commander in Africa, who has been leading the US effort against the virus. Williams visited Ebola treatment centres, said the official, who could not confirm whether other troops had come into contact with infected people. “None them were treating people. None of them are healthcare workers,” the official said. | The official said that among those being monitored is Major General Darryl Williams, the US army’s commander in Africa, who has been leading the US effort against the virus. Williams visited Ebola treatment centres, said the official, who could not confirm whether other troops had come into contact with infected people. “None them were treating people. None of them are healthcare workers,” the official said. |
| “We are billeted in a separate area (on the base). There’s no contact with the general population or with family. No one will be walking around Vicenza,” Williams told Reuters in a phone interview. | |
| “Our food is dropped off and then we eat and throw it away. Nobody else touches it,” he said. | “Our food is dropped off and then we eat and throw it away. Nobody else touches it,” he said. |
| After initially saying that some US troops would come into contact with patients, the Pentagon retracted this earlier this month and said that some soldiers would be involved with the testing of blood from people who displayed symptoms associated with Ebola. | After initially saying that some US troops would come into contact with patients, the Pentagon retracted this earlier this month and said that some soldiers would be involved with the testing of blood from people who displayed symptoms associated with Ebola. |
| Dozens more troops are due to return to base from Liberia later on Monday and in the coming days. “There has been no decision to implement this force wide and any such decision would be made by the secretary of defense,” the official said. | Dozens more troops are due to return to base from Liberia later on Monday and in the coming days. “There has been no decision to implement this force wide and any such decision would be made by the secretary of defense,” the official said. |