REPORTER: In terms of the Ebola response, the administration talked about the pre-departure screenings in those three countries in Africa and the arrival screenings now. But as far as I can tell, this system has a 0% success rate. None of the people who were stopped in Africa had Ebola and the only person who did have Ebola got through the system. Why did that system inspires much confidence and optimism here?



JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE: I think this may be a situation in which you are a glass half-empty guy and I'm a glass half-full guy. That just goes to our disposition, maybe. I still appreciate your point of view.



[laughter]



Maybe that's part of your job description and part of mine. It could be. But since you're asking a serious question, let me try to answer it. The goal of the screening measures that are in place in both West Africa and in the United States is to screen for individuals who are displaying symptoms of Ebola. The reason that that is critically important is that Ebola can only be transmitted when an individual comes into contact with the bodily fluids of an individual who is exhibiting symptoms of Ebola.



So we want to make sure we're protecting the transportation infrastructure -- certainly in this country, but across the world -- and the safety and security of the American public. So by screening for those symptoms, we can protect the American public from catching Ebola. So far no one with Ebola symptoms has entered this country. So, I recognize that you might describe that as a 0% success rate, but to date it's evident to me that we have a 100% success rate. This is an ongoing effort that requires significant vigilance. And as the president described yesterday, it is something that we take very seriously, and those efforts are ongoing everyday.