Sen. Nelson wants flight ban to keep Ebola out of the US

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is calling for ban on flights from African nations that are battling Ebola to stop the potential spread of the deadly virus inside the U.S. 

Nelson said Tuesday that he supports the Obama administration’s efforts to increase screening at U.S. airports of passengers who are arriving from Ebola-stricken countries following the first domestic diagnosis of the virus recently in Texas. 

But Nelson said the administration should take the Ebola response a step further and stop allowing flights to come into the U.S. from countries that are struggling to contain the disease. 

{mosads}“I have reviewed the administration’s comprehensive plan to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus and I support the national-security and public-health efforts in this regard,” Nelson wrote in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. 

“It would seem that another means of reducing the chances of exposure to the virus here at home would be to temporarily suspend unnecessary travel to the United States under existing visas and the issuance of new visas for citizens of countries that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies as areas with high rates of infections,” the Florida senator continued. 

“These travel bans could be temporary until the CDC determines the affected areas no longer pose a threat. This would not only help protect Americans here at home, it would also provide additional time for the added steps the administration is implementing to take effect,” Nelson concluded. 

The Obama administration announced on Monday that it would be increasing Ebola checks for airline passengers following the first domestic diagnoses of the disease in recent weeks in an effort to calm fears about travel between west Africa and the U.S.

Lawmakers have been pushing for the additional screenings to be put in place since Thomas Duncan became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. 

Obama administration officials have argued that it would be impractical to close off flights between the U.S. and countries affected by Ebola because doing so would make it harder to move relief supplies and health workers. They say that would hamper the international response and put more Americans at risk.

Obama said Monday that he was confident the virus could be prevented from spreading, citing the administration’s efforts to increase airport screening for Ebola. 

“We’re…going to be working on protocols to do additional passenger screening, both at the source and here in the United States,” Obama said after a meeting on Monday with his Cabinet. 

“All of these things make me confident that here in the United States, at least, the chances of an outbreak, of an epidemic here are extraordinarily low,” the president continued.