The White House is denying a Washington Post report that the United States initially refused to evacuate an American doctor infected with Ebola. Officials say the decision to send Dr. Peter Stafford to Germany was based on proximity and access to world-class care at Berlin's Charité hospital.
Dr. Stafford, a missionary in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, contracted the Bundibugyo strain after treating a patient who died from the virus. He was flown to Charité alongside his wife and four children, who are now in the hospital's isolation ward.
White House spokesman Kush Desai rejected the allegations, calling the Post's account “absolutely false.” He emphasized that Germany's Charité is internationally recognized and on par with top U.S. clinics.
Meanwhile, an Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was diverted to Canada after a passenger was found to have traveled from the DRC. The outbreak in Congo has nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths. Dr. Stafford's condition is improving, and he is now able to eat.