Jindal is one of the most prominent voices calling for a travel ban. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Jindal: Ban travel from Ebola nations

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Friday called on the Obama administration to impose a travel ban on flights to the U.S. from countries with Ebola outbreaks.

“We should stop accepting flights from countries that are Ebola stricken,” the Republican governor said in a statement.


“President Obama said it was ‘unlikely’ that Ebola would reach the U.S. Well, it has, and we need to protect our people,” he said. “But the Obama administration keeps saying they won’t shut down flights. They instead say we should listen to ‘the experts.’ In fact, they said it would be counterproductive to stop these flights. That statement defies logic. How exactly would stopping the entry of people potentially carrying the Ebola virus be counterproductive? This seems to be an obvious step to protect public health in the United States.”

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Jindal becomes one of the most prominent voices calling for a travel ban, which the Centers for Disease Control and some public health experts have said is misguided, impractical or both.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) also sent a letter to Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Center for Disease Control, asking the CDC to recommend that the president invoke his authority to impose certain travel restrictions.

“The health of our citizens should be the main priority of our government,” said Poe. “Fortunately, there is a law already on the books with the very purpose of containing the spread of diseases into our country. The time to invoke this law to ensure Americans are not exposed to this deadly disease is now, not after the disease is spread even further within our borders.”

Earlier Friday, CDC Director Tom Frieden appeared on the morning talk shows to argue that a travel ban likely would “backfire” and make it harder for health officials to fully root out the virus.

“Even if we tried to close the border, it wouldn’t work,” the director said on MSNBC. “People have a right to return. People transiting through could come in. And it would backfire, because by isolating these countries, it’ll make it harder to help them, it will spread more there and we’d be more likely to be exposed here.”

Frieden added that the only way to eliminate Americans’ risk to Ebola is to stop the virus “at the source” — meaning West Africa.

( Also on POLITICO: CDC chief on Ebola: We can't shut the border)

Health officials continue to screen up to 100 people in Texas in connection with Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan, who is in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Duncan flew to the U.S. on Sept. 19, but the CDC said he was screened in Monrovia before his flight and showed no symptoms of Ebola.

Individuals flying from West Africa are screened for symptoms of Ebola before flying, but Frieden conceded that these tests are not perfect. The top health official has said repeatedly that he is confident the CDC will successfully contain the virus in the U.S.

In Washington, D.C., Howard University Hospital on Friday also confirmed that it has isolated a patient who recently traveled to Nigeria for potential Ebola-like symptoms. Nigeria has not had a new Ebola case in nearly a month.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday afternoon that the White House is not currently considering a travel ban, according to a pool report. The spokesman praised the “sophisticated multi-layer screening system” at airports in West Africa and said that on-board personnel have also been trained to identify potential symptoms.

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