Rick Perry calls for Ebola checkpoints at border


Texas Governor Rick Perry is calling for "fully staffed quarantine stations anywhere people enter the country," CNN reports.
Perry used executive action Monday to create the Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response to study and improve Texas' readiness to deal with such diseases as Ebola.
Texas became the first state to face Ebola when Thomas Duncan was diagnosed with the virus after arriving in Dallas from Liberia. Duncan is in hospital isolation under critical condition while his family remains quarantined.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Perry said "there's only so much that a state can do," and called on Washington to "take immediate steps to minimize" the risks of Ebola. The American public, however, has little confidence in the federal government's competency in dealing with the disease. A recent Associated Press poll found that more than half of respondents "lack confidence in the government's ability to protect them."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Where will international students go if not the US?
Talking Points China, Canada and the UK are ready to educate the world
-
5 electrifying books to read this June to spark your imagination
The Week Recommends A love story set in space, a pair of ambitious debuts and more
-
The New World screwworm is making a deadly comeback
The explainer The parasite is spreading quickly
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows