U.S. Strengthens Domestic Response to Ebola Crisis

The U.S. administration is bolstering its response to the Ebola crisis in the wake of the second Dallas nurse testing positive for the virus.

The fact that the health worker was allowed to fly, even though she was part of the team who treated the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., calls in to question whether hospitals and the public health systems are equipped to handle the deadly disease.

President Obama, speaking after a meeting with his senior advisers involved in the Ebola response, assured a review of each step of the government's response since the first case was diagnosed in the U.S. He said U.S. officials will aggressively monitor incidents where there was a likelihood of the spreading of the virus.

He also said that officials will apply the lessons learned from the evident lapses in the government's response, if any future Ebola case was diagnosed, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Emphasizing that the dangers of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. was low, Obama called for a stepped-up response from the CDC against the disease.

"We want a rapid response team, a SWAT team essentially, from the CDC to be on the ground as quickly as possible, hopefully within 24 hours, so that they are taking the local hospital step by step though what needs to be done," he said, reports the Associated Press.

Obama, who rarely changes his programs, canceled his speeches and fundraisers in Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York to meet with his advisers to discuss the Ebola crisis.

Peter LaMotte, a senior vice president at Levick, a crisis communications firm, said that Obama has to make  to make more such efforts to address Americans about Ebola to demonstrate that he is in charge.

"He needs to be taking a leadership role rather than letting the experts speak on his behalf," LaMotte said, reports Reuters.