Dem in tough Senate race calls for Ebola travel restrictions

Federal officials should take steps to limit the travel of people being monitored for Ebola, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said on Saturday.

Udall — who is in a tough reelection race against Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) that could decide which party controls the Senate next year — said the Transportation Security Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should prevent those being monitored for the virus from boarding flights.  

{mosads}”We need to take every step to stop Ebola from spreading. This requires decisive and coordinated action to keep Coloradans safe,” Udall said in a statement.

“If you’re being monitored for exposure to Ebola, it’s for a reason — and it’s the same reason you shouldn’t be on an airline flight.”

Additionally, the government should support drug company Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s efforts to ramp up production of an experimental Ebola treatment drug, known as ZMapp, he said.

Udall’s call comes days after news that Amber Vinson, a nurse who had treated a Dallas Ebola patient, traveled on a Frontier Airlines flight from Cleveland to Dallas the day before being diagnosed with Ebola.  

The senator notably did not call for an outright ban on travel from West Africa. Nearly 70 lawmakers in both parties have called for that step, which they say is necessary to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

President Obama has resisted a flight ban so far, arguing it would likely make it more difficult to track people coming from nations hit hard by the outbreak and to send relief supplies to those countries.