WASHINGTON, October 27 (RIA Novosti) — The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will announce a new set of guidelines for state and local authorities dealing with healthcare workers coming from Ebola-stricken countries, a White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said Monday.
"You will hear from the CDC later today some additional information on guidelines that they believe should be in place to… as it relates to protocols for returning healthcare workers," Earnest said during a press briefing.
The announcement comes after governors from New York, New Jersey and several other states enforced that health care workers who had direct contact with Ebola patients in West Africa be put in mandatory quarantine upon their arrival to the United States.
"We want to make sure that whatever policies are put in place in this country to protect the American public do not serve as a disincentive to doctors and nurses from this country volunteering to travel to West Africa to treat Ebola patients," Earnest said.
On Monday, an American nurse Kaci Hickox, who was quarantined after returning from an Ebola-struck country, tested negative for the virus and was released from quarantine. Hickox argued that her basic human rights were taken away from her during quarantine and that throughout the ordeal she did not feel sick.
In response, Earnest confirmed that the Obama administration will continue to coordinate with state and local authorities and healthcare experts in determining the best policy for dealing with potential Ebola patients.
The United States is in the midst of sending some 4,000 troops to West African countries that have been affected the most by Ebola. While domestically, airports in 6 US states have issued a 21 day monitoring period for travelers who are returning from Ebola stricken West African countries.
According the most recent estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 4,900 people have died from current Ebola outbreak that originated in the West African country of Guinea. There have also been some 10,100 cases of confirmed, suspected and registered Ebola cases, according to WHO.
