Two US citizens suffering from Ebola in West Africa will be evacuated back to the United States to be cared for in strict isolation in the coming days, the State Department said on Friday.
"The safety and security of US citizens is our paramount concern," deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said, confirming the State Department was facilitating the medical evacuation with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"Every precaution is being taken to move the patients safely and securely, to provide critical care en route on a non-commercial aircraft and to maintain strict isolation upon arrival in the United States."
They will be "taken to medical facilities with appropriate isolation and treatment capabilities," Harf added in her statement.
Samaritan's Purse, a US charity, has said that two of its staff members, doctor Kent Brantly and another American missionary worker, Nancy Writebol, were stricken with the virus in Liberia.
Both "are in stable but grave condition," the group said on Thursday in a statement.
Harf declined to identify the two patients who would be evacuated due to privacy concerns.
Emory University Hospital, in southern Georgia, has also said that it is preparing to receive "a patient with Ebola virus infection to its special facility containment unit within the next several days."
But it was not immediately clear if either Brantly or Writebol would be taken to Emory.
.jpeg)
No comments:
Post a Comment