Philadelphia City Council reviews Ebola preparation plans

Philadelphia City Council is examining how ready this region is for an Ebola outbreak.

Councilman Curtis Jones called for the hearing Thursday, saying it was time to put Ebola fears to rest in Philadelphia and show the city is prepared if someone were diagnosed here.

“We want to replace fear with facts because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of panic,” Jones said. “We need to know if, indeed, hospitals, schools and other major communal activities are aware of how this virus is transmitted.”

Ending flights from Africa into the United States is not the answer, said Gurly Gibson of the Liberian trade office in Philadelphia.

“At our airports, we have medical teams that test every passenger before they get on the flight,” Gibson said. “If anyone has any fever 99 or above, you are not allowed on the flight. So I just want to say to all listening today, you don’t need to be afraid of people leaving Africa or people coming into Africa because we are doing all we can.”

City officials said they are prepared to handle any infection if it show show up in Philadelphia.