Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown expressed alarm on Friday about the first diagnosed case of Ebola in New York City, and attacked his opponent, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), for “waffling” on a travel ban.

“The way to stop mass infection is by swift and decisive action, including a travel ban and quarantining health workers returning from countries where Ebola is prevalent,” Brown said in a statement. “This is not a time for political correctness; it’s a time for common-sense prevention mechanisms.”

What Brown refers to as political correctness happens to be the consensus view among public health specialists, who warn that a travel ban would be ineffective at best, and counterproductive at worst in protecting Americans from Ebola. Experts have said a travel ban wouldn’t stop affected individuals in the Ebola-stricken African countries from traveling elsewhere before coming to the U.S., and have argued that it would hamper the flow of aid to help stop the virus at its source.

Brown’s statement came on the morning after a doctor who treated Ebola patients in Guinea reportedly tested positive for the virus in New York City.

“Ebola has now spread to New York City, the largest city in the United States and less than 300 miles from New Hampshire,” Brown said. “The person who brought it there passed through enhanced screening at the airport and exposed himself to countless other people by riding the subway, taking a taxi and going bowling. Still, Senator Shaheen is waffling on a travel ban.”