As Ebola fears spread, states take emergency response into their own hands

Not satisfied with the federal response, several states are taking the Ebola crisis into their own hands – tapping emergency funds in their budgets, launching treatment units and holding public hearings to stanch the spread of misinformation about the virus.

 

The lines of responsibility for what the federal government and what the states should be doing have blurred in recent days, amid questions over guidance initially provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

But the states touched by the outbreak scare, including Ohio where one Ebola patient visited before returning to Dallas, are scrambling to shore up their medical lines of defense.

 

On Monday, a legislative-spending panel in Ohio approved $800,000 for the state’s health department to better equip area hospitals if an outbreak occurs. Of that amount, about $300,000 would go toward strengthening Ohio’s stockpile of protective equipment which includes purchasing full-body suits, face masks and shoe covers. The rest will be spent on hiring a Cincinnati company to clean up contaminated sites and dispose of linens should the virus surface there.

 

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