Obama headed to Atlanta for Ebola update

President Obama will travel to Atlanta next week for an in-person briefing at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on the outbreak of the Ebola virus, the White House announced Friday.

Obama and researchers at the CDC will “discuss the U.S. response to that outbreak, and than the scientists, doctors and healthcare workers who are helping those affected by the disease at home and around the world,” press secretary Josh Earnest said.

{mosads}During an interview last Sunday with “Meet the Press,” Obama said that, while Americans should not be concerned about the spread of Ebola to the U.S. in the short term, the nation needed to make combating the disease “a national-security priority.”

“If we don’t make that effort now, and this spreads not just through Africa but other parts of the world, there’s the prospect then that the virus mutates,” he said. “It becomes more easily transmittable. And then, it could be a serious danger to the United States.”

The president will also receive an update on the rare respiratory infection spreading in Illinois and Missouri. Hundreds of children have been hospitalized from the mysterious disease.

After his visit to the CDC, Obama will travel to Tampa, Fla., to visit the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. Central Command is responsible for military activities in the Middle East, including in Iraq and Syria. On Wednesday, President Obama announced a stepped-up military campaign targeting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorists.

“As we implement the president’s strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL, it’s the men and women of CENTCOM who’ll partner with others in the region to carry out our limited military mission in those countries,” Earnest said. “While at CENTCOM, the president will receive a briefing from his top commanders there and thank the service members for their continued hard work on these efforts.”