Washington, Freetown: President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to avoid hysteria over Ebola, and played down the idea of travel bans from Ebola-ravaged countries in West Africa, explaining that restrictions could make things worse.

Lawmakers this week urged Obama to bar people from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea from entering the United States. Obama said he is not philosophically opposed to travel bans, but in his weekly address made it clear he is not leaning toward them.

“We can’t just cut ourselves off from West Africa,” Obama said, explaining it would make it harder to move health workers and supplies into the region and would motivate people trying to get out the region to evade screening, making it harder to track cases.

“Trying to seal off an entire region of the world — if that were even possible — could actually make the situation worse,” he said.

Obama said it would take time to fight the disease, warning “before this is over, we may see more isolated cases here in America.” But he sought to put the disease in perspective, reminding Americans that only three cases have been diagnosed in the country, and that it is not easily contracted.

“What we’re seeing now is not an ‘outbreak’ or an ‘epidemic’ of Ebola in America,” he said.

“This is a serious disease, but we can’t given in to hysteria or fear.”

 

Meanwhile, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) on Saturday delivered emergency food rations to 265,000 people, many of them quarantined in Sierra Leone, to help fight the spread of Ebola.

Food supplies are being distributed in the Waterloo district on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, WFP’s Alexis Masciarelli told The Associated Press.

Waterloo has seen some of the highest cases of Ebola infections and the deliveries are to help quarantined families by providing them enough to eat so they do not leave their homes to look for food. The deliveries began Friday and are continuing Saturday, said Masciarelli.

More countries have banned travellers from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, where the dreaded, fatal disease is believed to have claimed more than 4,500 lives.

Cape Verde, an island nation, on October 9 announced that it would deny entry to non-resident foreigners coming from those three countries or who have been to those countries in the previous 30 days, the International SOS website reported. Mauritius on October 8 banned entry to all travellers who have visited Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Congo in the last two months.

Seychelles on October 8 suspended entry to travellers who have visited Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Nigeria or Congo (DRC) 28 days before their journey, with the exception of citizens, International SOS, a medical and travel security services company, reported.

In Sierra Leone, WFP mobilised 700 aid workers to distribute more than 800 metric tonnes of food — rice and super cereal — to meet families’ food needs for 30 days. The distribution is in partnership with Caritas, Community Integrated Development Organisation, civil society organisations and young volunteers.

“Our team is out in Waterloo to distribute food,” said WFP’s Masciarelli. “We started on Friday and are continuing Saturday. It is a huge exercise.”

The food deliveries in the Waterloo area are going to “all Ebola-affected people — be it treatment centres or in quarantined households — to prevent this health crisis from becoming a food and nutrition crisis,” said Gon Myers, WFP Country Director in Sierra Leone.

“We have to deploy many staff, split people into smaller groups and speed up the distribution process to reduce risks both for the people receiving food and for staff, as Waterloo has seen some of the highest cases of Ebola infections in recent days,” Myers said.

A ship containing 7,000 tonnes of rice is expected to dock at Freetown on Sunday, said Masciarelli. “About two-thirds of the rice will be unloaded in Freetown to be delivered to people in Sierra Leone. The ship will then deliver the remaining rice to Liberia.”

A ship carrying British troops is also headed to Sierra Leone to battle the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola in history.