OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe is calling for a temporary travel ban to the United States from West African countries that are battling an outbreak of Ebola.
Inhofe released a statement Thursday calling for a ban on travel to the U.S. from the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Federal health officials have said such travel bans would not be effective in controlling the outbreak.
The epidemic in West Africa already has claimed more than 4,000 lives, and fears in the U.S. are on the rise after two nurses tested positive after caring for a patient in Dallas who died of the disease.
Inhofe also called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update protocols for health care professionals to follow while treating patients with Ebola.