Americans are confident authorities will prevent a major domestic outbreak of Ebola but have been critical of the CDC’s handling of the crisis so far.
An Associated Press-GfK poll says only 20% approve of CDC policy and only 3 in 10 believe federal officials are sharing enough information about the virus.
Furthermore only 18% have full confidence in hospitals being able to safely treat Ebola patients.
An overwhelming majority – 9 out of 10 people – said it was necessary to beef up screening at US airports and half of those polled said it was ‘definitely necessary to prevent everyone traveling from places affected by Ebola from entering the US.’
"It seems to me we have a crisis of two things; we have a crisis of science, and either people don’t understand it or … they don’t believe it," said Dr. Joseph McCormick, an Ebola expert at the University of Texas.
"We also have a crisis in confidence in government," he added.
The survey conducted online interviews with 1,608 adults from October 16-20 before the very latest Ebola protocols were implemented.
New York, New Jersey and Illinois have announced ‘home quarantines’ for a 21-day period for anyone returning from having direct contact with Ebola patients in West Africa.
