Over 60 percent of Americans believe that Ebola is “likely” to break out in the United States, according to a new poll, despite President Obama’s assurances to the contrary.
“Now, 62 percent of Americans tell Reason-Rupe an Ebola outbreak in a US city is likely, while 36 percent say an outbreak in the US is not likely,” Reason reports. “Twenty-three percent of the public believes an Ebola outbreak in a US city is ‘very likely’ and 39 percent say it is ‘somewhat likely.’” In August, just 40 percent of Americans thought an outbreak would take place.
One person who contracted the disease died shortly after coming to the United States.
“We had one case and I think there may be other cases, and I think we have to recognize that as a nation,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell told reporters Thursday morning.
That admission came one day after Obama tried to tamp down concerns that an outbreak would take place in the United States.
“Because we’ve got a world-class medical system, because we’ve put in place tough safety measures, because of the work that many of you have done in conjunction with organizations like the CDC and dealing with infectious disease generally, and because of the nature of Ebola and the fact that it’s not something involving airborne transmission, the chance of an Ebola outbreak in the United States remains extremely low,” Obama told health officials during a Wednesday conference call.