Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

United Airlines Passengers In New Jersey Quarantined At Gate; CDC Responding To Vomiting Male On United Air Flight; Thomas Duncan's Condition Worsens; Peter Kassig Appears In ISIS Video; Fighting Ebola Becoming National Security Priority; Unemployment At 5.9 Percent For September

Aired October 04, 2014 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Poppy Harlow. Thanks so much for joining us. We are following a developing story this hour in New Jersey where passengers on board a United Airlines flight from Brussels have been quarantined at the gate.

CNN has confirmed that a male passenger on board that plane is vomiting and that the Centers for Disease Control and prevention are responding right now to that situation. CDC staffs are working to determine where the sick passenger came from before departing Brussels. You may recall the Ebola patient from Liberia who is now being treated in Texas arrived to the United States also on a United flight from Brussels.

CNN crew is headed at this moment to Newark airport. We will get you the latest as we have it. We, of course, will have more information on the situation.

But in the meantime, the number of people in the Dallas area considered to be at a higher risk of developing Ebola has been reduced to nine. That is according to government health officials. And so far none of those nine people have shown symptoms of the disease. The high risk group is believed to include family members and doctors who came in contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia who landed in Dallas on September 20th and gone to feel ill several days later. Overall about 50 people are being monitored daily for any potential Ebola symptoms.

Also in Dallas within the last hour, Texas health Presbyterian hospital did announce that a patient, Thomas Eric Duncan's condition has worsened. He is now listed in critical condition.

Let's get more on all of the angles surrounding this developing story. Our Martin Savidge is on the ground outside that hospital where Duncan is being treated. We are also joined by Dr. Seema Yasmin, a professor of public health at the University of Texas in Dallas and also a former CDC disease detective and we are also joined by Dr. Daniel Bausch, the head of virology and emerging infections department at the U.S. naval medical research unit 6 in Lima, Peru.

To you first, Martin. Very disturbing new that is the patient has been elevated to critical condition. What do you know? MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't know much more than that.

He had been in serious condition in the previous days and the updates he received from the Texas health authorities here. Now, we are told he worsened to critical condition. We don't know whether if that means that additional attempts are being made to render aid and yet another words, is he is life support? We don't have that kind of insight. And also (INAUDIBLE) I will leave it to your medical experts to say whether this is part of maybe the progression of battling the disease.

Meanwhile, though, the news is looking very good when it comes to containing Ebola to just the one index patient as he is described here by the CDC. They say that people there are monitoring is a group of about 50, nine to ten of which you say are the high risk individuals. These are those that are known to have come in direct contact with Thomas Duncan in all of those people.

There is not any indication that someone is getting sick or has Ebola and that, of course, is good. Those who are closest to Duncan, the woman who is his girlfriend and their family, they remain in isolation in a private residents now. So their living conditions have certainly been improved upon.

And it is also been pointed out that authorities here are saying they are asking for the prayers of the community for Mr. Duncan and for those family members. They don't want people to feel they are being stigmatized because of possible contact with the disease. And that's another kind of contagion they worry about here that somehow people could begin to look other differently simply because they may have come in contact. That's something they also want to make sure doesn't spread in any way, Poppy.

HARLOW: And we know, we have heard that story being reported from some people on the ground who just live in the apartment complex have been told, you know, some of them not to go to their work, et cetera.

Marty, a lot of people want to know, what about that treatment, what about that experimental drug, ZMapp, that was given to the two aid worker? They came back from West Africa and treated successfully here in the United States and recovered. Do we know if Duncan is getting that?

SAVIDGE: The CDC had an update just a short while ago. And they said if his doctors and if his family requested it, that the experimental medications, now they didn't specify a name. But they said that experimental treatments would be and are available. But they have to be requested by the doctor and the family. They did not say if any request has been made.

HARLOW: OK. Martin Savidge, thank you for the reporting.

Please standby. I want to bring in other experts.

First to you, Dr. Yasmin. I want to ask you about this plane that have quarantined at Newark airport. Obviously, we are proceeding with caution here. We have not been given any indication that this is at all tied to Ebola. So I don't want people to jump to conclusions. However, you have a male passenger vomiting, you have experts from the CDC there assessing the situation that is right in protocol with the FAA guidelines. It is what happens when something like this is occurring. But given your background with the CDC, what is likely going on right now?

DOCTOR SEEMA YASMIN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, DALLAS: So the response are very rapid and that's really reassuring, Poppy. We don't know at all if this is an Ebola case, but say it is, then because the response has been so rapid, it meant that this is likely to be very successful in terms of contact tracing and in containing this against if it the case.

What they will be doing is monitoring that patient, testing them and isolating them just in case, taking a good travel history, see where the plane came from, what kind of contact that patient had with potential Ebola cases or not. And then they will monitor those close contacts on the plane. It may not be everybody on the plane, Poppy. It maybe just be those who are about feet away from the patient.

HARLOW: OK, Dr. Yasmin and Dr. Bausch, I want you both to listen to comments by the director of the CDC. Basically saying the key to controlling this disease lies in West Africa. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: We also -- I do believe we have to recognize that we are all connected. And although we might wish we could seal ourselves off from the world, there are Americans who have the right of return, there are many other people who have the right to enter into this country and that we are not going to be able to get to zero risk no matter what we do unless and until we control the outbreak in west Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So you, Dr. Bausch, how do we do that? Because, you know, he was asked yesterday whether or not we should restrict travel in and out of West Africa. He said absolutely not. That is not the solution. So to you, Dr. Bausch, how do we get a handle on it there?

DR. DANIEL BAUSCH, HEAD OF VIROLOGY AND EMERGING INFECTIONS DEPARTMENT, U.S. NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH UNIT 6: I agree. Restricting travel is not the solution. We really need to focus as we have been trying to do through the Obama plan and other responses internationally. We need to focus on the grounds in West Africa. That's where the story is. The occasionally reported case here may happen, but we know how to control that and we don't anticipate any major problem in the United States. We need to get people trained and really drastically wrap up the infrastructure to control this in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. That's our only way.

HARLOW: I want you to listen to more comments by Dr, Frieden, the head of the CDC talking about just that whether or not travel should be restricted. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDEN: We really need to be clear that we don't inadvertently increase the risk to people in this country by making it harder for us to respond to the needs in those counties by making it harder for us to get assistance in and therefore those outbreaks would become worse, go on longer and paradoxically something that we did to try to protect ourselves might actually increase our risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Dr. Yasmin, do you agree with him?

YASMIN: Absolutely. And Poppy, we had just last month from the official at world health organization and doctors about borders when momentarily there was some European flights to West Africa that were restricted. And they said hold on, we need to go there. We need to send our doctors and nurses there. We need to get essential medical supplies there. You suddenly made it really difficult for us to get in and then to get out again.

HARLOW: When you look at what the United States is doing, it was just that I believe yesterday by the Pentagon spokesman, that we may now send as many as 4,000 troops on the ground. I will start with you, doctor Bausch. What is the most critical thing that our U.S. troops can do, given that these are not all doctors, these are not all infectious disease specialists. But these are people with training in crisis situations what is needed most.

BAUSCH: Right. Right now, it's actually not an issue of having infectious disease specialist per se. They need to be trained to make sure that they can be safe in the environment. But it is really more of a public health approach right now. We need to be limiting contact, of course, between infected people and other people and other regions or other villages or other family members and then trying to get them, people who are sick, into isolation and give them the best treatment. The logistics are overwhelming. We are making progress but it's not as fast as we might like.

HARLOW: Absolutely, as more and more people continue to die from the disease in west Africa.

Thank you both for the expertise. Please stick around. Out thanks to Martin Savidge as well who will be joining us throughout the evening.

Coming up right after a quick break, Thomas Eric Duncan, as we said now, in critical condition at a hospital in Dallas. Many are questioning the handling of his case and how other patients have been quarantined there if Ebola does spreads.

Also, is the United States ready? We will discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

We keep hearing that the risk of transmitting the Ebola virus on planes is pretty low. And authorities continue reassuring the public that they know what they are doing. But there have been an obvious serious of missteps starting with the Dallas hospital with that Dallas hospital that treated the Ebola patient.

Dr. Seema Yasmin and Dr, Daniel Bausch are back with me.

Let me start with you, Dr. Yasmin. You are a former CDC disease detective. When you look at the CDC's response to this combined with what local officials are doing, how would you rate it?

YASMIN: Yes. I mean, so far they have been working as quickly as they can and try to really be meticulous with the contact tracing. And there needs to be a balance between how quickly that is done and how far you across that wide net and how meticulous you are as well.

Sadly here, Dallas residents also quite concerned that perhaps the communication isn't as good as it should be. For example, that family who are quarantined in the apartment that the case patient stay there, stayed there for a few days with soiled bedding and soiled clothing that wasn't cleaned until yesterday. And then furthermore we heard there was vomit on the floor that was just hosed down with water. That is not according to CDC guidelines. So clearly, there are some communications problems going on here.

HARLOW: Interesting, Dr. Bausch, Dr. Frieden, the head of the CDC was asked on CNN's "NEW DAY" program yesterday, look, does the CDC have the right to mandate that local health officials on the ground in Texas do what they say and he said no. I mean, they work in coordination but ultimately it's up to the people on the ground, the local officials. Is that the right way to do it?

BAUSCH: That's how our country works. That's the balance that we had by big federal state government for centuries now. And just as we don't have the right to dictate what might happen in another country, within the state it is the state department of public health that is the dominant authority and can request some assistance from CDC but nevertheless, ultimately, it is the state's responsibility.

HARLOW: When you look, Dr. Bausch, to continue with you, when you look at what was happening, all of, you know, the inability or the lack of action in terms of getting the soiled sheets, et cetera, out of the apartment where Thomas Duncan was staying. The family members were in there for days. We know luckily they were just finally moved last night. How big of a problem is that?

BAUSCH: I mean it is a problem. As we said many times and everyone knows by now, this virus is spread by direct contact with blood and bodily fluids and soiled sheets where someone had vomiting or nausea or diarrhea or possibly bleeding, certainly could be infectious, at least for a certain time. The virus doesn't last very long in the environment once it is shed, but certainly for hours and up to a few days, people who had contact there would be at very high risk.

HARLOW: To you, Dr. Yasmin, on the ground there within the community and Martin Savidge was talking about this, this issue of you don't want people, you know, to be isolated, you know, by their friends, by their co-workers, et cetera, just because they may have lived in the same apartment complex, et cetera.

There is also the question of transparency from local officials. How would you assess that on the ground there?

YASMIN: There is concern and fear here, Poppy, because especially the transparency issue with the hospital. So on three separate days this week, the hospital released press statement about what happened that Thursday night, when the patient was discharged home with antibiotics and those three press statements, they were very different. They contradicted each other.

On Wednesday we were told that it was a nurse who took a travel history, did not relay that information to a doctor. The next day, we are told that the nurse's electronic healthcare system doesn't communicate and the physician's electronic health care system and that there was a flaw. And then just last night, we are told there was no flaw. And so we're really confused now.

This transparency is so important, Poppy, not because we want to blame people. We need to know what happened to the other hospitals can prepare and learn from these mistakes.

HARLOW: Yes, very important point. And you look at any situation, what can we learn from it? What do you think, Dr. Bausch? What can we learn from the first case now being treated in Dallas?

BAUSCH: Well, I think that is right. The transparency is extremely important. You know, quite frankly, this is not that hard. It is not that complicated. We can't control completely who comes into the country. We don't want to cut off all the flights.

But nevertheless, if we have an important case, we need to isolate that person. We need to do the contact tracing. We need to n be very transparent. The whole system is based on having the correct information. If we don't have that, that's where the danger comes in and not knowing who does he contact, not knowing who we need to trace. So the transparency is important in the United States and also extremely important. Of course, we had difficulty with this in West Africa.

HARLOW: All right, I want you both to stick around. Thank you for your expertise. We are going to take a quick break.

On the other side, a lot of people, a lot of you have been asking questions about Ebola. You want answers. You are going to get them from our experts. The doctors will join us you're your answers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: It was a virus that few of us felt posed a risk and now Ebola has reached America. Four Americans have been sickened by the disease while in Liberia, the first case diagnosed in the U.S. just this week.

Dr. Seema Yasmin and also Doctor Daniel Bausch are back with me with the spread of this disease. Of course, you guys come so many questions. A lot of our viewers have been emailing us, tweeting, writing on our Facebook page. So we want you to answer some of their questions.

Let me bring you the first question, Dr. Yasmin. This comes from Joseph. He wrote in what does the Ebola virus do to the human body?

YASMIN: It has actually have many, many different effects on the human body. One is on the blood and it causes a strange paradox of clotting and thinning and uses up all the things we have to help clot the blood, suddenly you can have this profuse bleeding. Also, it causes drop-ins blood pressure. Of course, there is early symptoms because of the virus -- a fever, headache, aches and pains and the joints and the muscles, diarrhea and vomiting.

Slowly, what can happen, Poppy, is that different organs start to fail. The kidneys, the liver and then, of course, there is no specific treatments. What we are trying to do is support the patient as much as possible, trying to prolong their lives so the immune system can kick in and fight off the virus.

HARLOW: And of course, there is no FDA-proved treatment at this point and no vaccine. Obviously, something they are working on.

Dr. Bausch, Eric wrote, too, into as he and said given the healthcare structure in the U.S., what is the realistic worst case scenario for an Ebola outbreak here?

BAUSCH: I think the worst case scenario for us is not one that should be concerns most Americans even though it's a tragedy for a few individuals. So we are very unlikely to have a large mogul (ph) outbreak. We are not going to have this virus that is going to be circulating in communities, infecting lots of people. We may have an unfortunate situation where a traveler results in infection of a few other people that may happen with this case in Dallas, maybe not. We will go see.

And so, there is a few people on the frontlines, the health care worker who maybe not as careful as they need to be, family members who are taking care of someone who are extremely ill. So a few cases, but we are not going to have a large Ebola outbreak here in the United States.

HARLOW: Reassuring to hear that.

To you, Dr. Yasmin, how soon this was written to us, how soon after exposure can you test for Ebola or do you have to wait for symptoms to show before you can do an accurate test?

YASMIN: The CDC guidelines say you have to have symptoms before you test. Typically, those symptoms would have to be around for three days. That's when there is enough viruses in the body to actually test for Ebola.

HARLOW: And that's what is so concerning because many people, you know, say we don't know if someone, you know, that we are with and has contact with doesn't have the symptoms idea.

To you Dr. Bausch, Jonathan wrote in to us, can Ebola be more easily contracted in a swimming pool?

BAUSCH: No. This is not a virus that is very hearty in environment. So once it is shed from a human into a swimming pool, into the environment, usually it would be fairly inactivated fairly rapidly like from the chlorine that would normally be in a public pool, from sunlight and heat. So the danger really here is not so much just casual contacts in the environment, but really again, it is close contact with blood and bodily fluids of someone who is ill.

HARLOW: All right, thank you both for your expertise throughout. We really appreciate it.

YASMIN: Thank you.

BAUSCH: Welcome.

HARLOW: Of course our chief medical correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta has been all over this story and he is going to have much more on the Ebola situation in the United States and what is being done about it. "SANJAY GUPTA MD," the Special Reporter airs an hour from now.

And also, we are following developments at an airport where a sick passenger traveling from abroad took ill. We will give you the latest on the plane that was quarantined straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Turning back now to our developing story, a possible scare, really, on a plane coming from Brussels to the United States. I want to go straight to our Cristina Alesci who joins us from Newark airport.

Cristina, we got word of this just in the last few hours this plane, the passengers were quarantine. A man was sick and vomiting on the plane. We understand at this point, though, passengers no longer quarantined, is that right?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We understand that they have actually been let go as you may have mentioned before. The CDC's quarantine officers were here assessing the patient and then subsequently the passengers were let go. Right now, we understand that they are going through customs and they could be coming through the doors right behind me now.

And what we do know so far is that the passenger and his daughter were transported to a local university hospital where they are being treated. Obviously, the patient was at the hospital now was vomiting on the plane. That's what raised concerns to begin with, Poppy.

HARLOW: And obviously, the question that comes to everyone's mind is do we know if this could have anything to do with Ebola? Do we know at this point?

ALESCI: We don't know. And in fact, neither the port authority nor the CDC is even telling us where the passenger originated from. We did speak to a family member of one of the passengers or a man who said he was a family member of one of the passengers on board. His 11-year-old nephew is supposedly on board the plane. The 11-year-old was coming from Liberia through a connecting flight in Brussels. We don't have any other further information on the passenger at this point. But we will keep on it.

HARLOW: I know. That is critical. I mean, we don't know where this man who fell ill and was vomiting, where he originated. We know he connected in Brussels.

I want to also as we continue to talk, show the viewers some photos that we have gotten in to CNN. These are photos of officials of some sort on board that flight that United Airlines plane. And you see them holding, you know, they have gloves on, again, on that flight. But at this point, those passengers have been taken off the plane and allowed to go through customs, et cetera. But that is a scary thing to have happen when your plane lands, especially with the heightened awareness of Ebola right now. In terms of what officials there are saying at this point in time, are they advising those passengers that got off the plane to do anything specific?

ALESCI: We don't know, but what I can tell you to confirm what you just said, is that there are airport workers inside with masks on. So it is definitely a scary sight. And up until this point, you know, there hasn't been a ton of talk about how we should limit flights from the countries. Obviously, the FAA actually put out a statement yesterday, kind of addressing this issue as to whether or not flights should be banned from the countries where, you know, the outbreak is happening.

This current scare may give people some doubt or raise some questions about flying in general, you know, when you have to be quarantined for a couple of hours on a plane. Whether or not this turns out to be, you know, an Ebola-related case if which -- I mean, if the CDC is letting passengers out of the plane, it would lead to you believe that it is not. But it does certainly raise questions for flyers and persons.

HARLOW: Yes. And it also brings up the question, is how soon can you know and how quickly can a test for Ebola happen, et cetera? Again, we do not want to alarm people. At this point, we have no indication that this is tied to Ebola. But obviously, all the officials there are taking precaution.

Our Cristina Alesci is on the story. She will be on it all evening. Cristina, thank you.

Coming up next in the NEWSROOM, ISIS now threatening to behead an American aid worker captured in Syria. His family making an emotional plea for his safe return. We will hear from them straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: A mother and father in Indiana sent a direct message to the violent militants of ISIS today. That message, please don't kill our son. They are talking about Peter Kassig who is an aid worker who went to the Middle East to help people displaced by Syria's brutal civil war. He has been held hostage for a year. And yesterday Kassig appeared in an ISIS video with a mass fighter who said he is the next to die.

Peter Kassig's parents posted their message on the internet to their son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED KASSIG, PETER KASSIG'S FATHER: We know that the Syrians are suffering. We also believe violence is not the solution to the problems that trouble us all. There is so much beyond our control. We have asked our government to change its actions. But like our son, we had no more control over the U.S. government than you have over the breaking of dawn.

PAULA KASSIG, PETER KASSIG'S MOTHER: Most of all, know that we love you. And our hearts ache for you to be granted your freedom so we can hug you again and set you free to continue the life you have chosen, the life of service to those in greatest need. We implore those who are holding to you show mercy and use their power to let you go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: We want to let you know a little bit more about Peter Kassig who was he and what motivated him. Our Arwa Damon actually spent time with him a few years ago. He was 24 years old at the time and a former U.S. soldier and a medic volunteering as a war casualty's hospital in Lebanon. She talked to him at length about his selfless motivation and why he gave so much to help people he didn't know.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We first met Peter Kassig during the summer of 2012. He just had been in Lebanon for a few months but was already volunteering at a hospital in Tripoli, northern Lebanon helping to treat wounded Syrians. Because of his medical background, he said that he just felt as if he had to go to Lebanon and try to help out the Syrians, the innocent victims of the ongoing war there. Take a listen to what he said in 2012.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER KASSIG, ISIS HOSTAGE: We each get one life and that's it. We get one shot at this. We don't get do-overs, you know. And like for me, it was time to put up or shut up. The way I saw it, I didn't have a choice, you know. This is what I was put here to do. I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic and idealist and I believe in hopeless causes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: A few months after we met Peter, he had already set up his own nonprofit SERAF, special emergency response and assistance focused on training and delivering medical supplies and assistance to the various field clinics in Syria, mostly in Aleppo and (INAUDIBLE). And it was during one of those medical missions that Peter Kassig was kidnapped on October 1st, 2013.

Arwa Damon CNN, Turkey.

HARLOW: All right, thanks to Arwa for that. You can read a lot more for reporting on Peter on CNN.com.

Coming up next in the NEWSROOM, is the United States ready to handle a deadly virus like Ebola. The White House is now weighing in and we will discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

Let's return to developments about spread of Ebola and specifically the U.S. government's role in fighting it. I am joined by CNN commentators Marc Lamont Hill with me here on New York and also Ben Ferguson who joins us from Dallas.

You know, we saw a joint news conference yesterday at the White House and several top officials spoke with a lengthy address. The president homeland security and counterterrorism advisor say fighting Ebola is a national security priority. She also says she was confident in the U.S. response. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MONACO, HOMELAND SECURITY ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT: I want to emphasize that the United States is prepared to deal with this crisis, both at home and in the region. Every Ebola outbreak over the past 40 years has been stopped. We know how to do this. We will do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, let me go to Ben first. How do you rate the U.S. government's response?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think incredibly overconfident is the biggest concern that I see. And mainly being here in Dallas, we were so confident at the CDC when the president was there on the 16th of September saying the likelihood of coming to America was very, very minimal.

If you remember, when he talked about that and then we have all these stop gaps, these safety precautions that we are supposed to have, well they multiple times failed with the patient that is here in Dallas. And so, we saw the failure at the hospital. We saw the failure when it came to the check on the airplane, we saw the failure when he went to the hospital the first time. We saw the failure with quarantine and we saw the failure with the kids going to school. And then we saw the failure with the hazmat crew that didn't come in for multiple days after he was diagnosed with Ebola. So I think we are overconfident. And I think we should start looking at the possibility of maybe are we not as cautious or as good at dealing with this as we think we are?

HARLOW: Marc, what do you think? Do you agree? I mean, was the U.S. government caught off guard? MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. The U.S. government

was not caught off guard. There was a ball was clearly dropped with that hospital with regard to not identifying symptoms of Ebola but not knowing the person come from Africa and that disconnect cause a huge proper done acceptable. But the U.S. was prepared for this. We knew it was going to happen.

HARLOW: But weren't fully prepared in terms of putting all our efforts at the NIH and et cetera in to really fast tracking some sort of treatment because there is no FDA-approved treatment?

HILL: Well, fast tracking treatment today and I did spoke to some experts who say the fast tracking treatment is much more difficult than we think. And also, the most difficult part of this whole process is identifying the first case. Once you get that, it's about having strong resources and having strong networks and we have all of those things. I'm not overconfident. To Ben's point, we shouldn't be over confident. But there is actually no reason to believe we can't do what we have always done which is stop this.

HARLOW: There is also --

FERGUSON: Let me say this, though. I think we can stop this. The question is how many people's lives are affected and even how many people's lives it can cost. I mean, you know, the statement yesterday at the White House when they said we have stopped every outbreak of Ebola. Well, the question is how many people died while you are trying to stop it each time. And I think that's the core issue. You have to look at the basic things about this that we learned about just here in Dallas. We didn't even have a protocol of what to do with all of the hazmat material after somebody does come down with Ebola. We didn't have the right permits. It was a private company that had to come in. And people didn't know how that was even going to be done. And this is with one individual. So what happens if it turns into five or ten or 15 or 20.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: We don't need to panic.

FERGUSON: We are not doing it right.

HARLOW: I'm stuck in between the two of you. Doesn't Ben have a point? I mean, there is a fine line here. We heard the president a few weeks saying it is unlikely that it comes to the United States. You don't want to freak out the American public unnecessarily.

At the same time looking at what we have seen happen in Dallas, doesn't every city and state government need to make this a top priority in terms of having plans and removal of things like in Dallas, for which hospital it is going to treat it. I mean, do you think that cities and states are prepared enough?

HILL: I think they are now. I think that what we saw in Dallas is reflective of what would happen in almost any city. That's why you don't want to beat up on Dallas too much. I think they made a mistake that many hospitals would make. And there is disconnect that could have happen in many place. But I think the resources are now at the place. People know what has been going on. The hazmat issues are critical and Ben is absolutely right. That's unacceptable. The hospital issue was unacceptable. But we do have the resources in place to stop this from happening. And Ben's as how many lives can be lost, you know, in this process. I think the answer going to be zero. So far, the answer has been. No one has (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: So learn the lessons. It's easy for people and criticize, the folks on the ground that are dealing learned the lessons. Ben, I want to get your thoughts, both of your thoughts for us to go on this. U.S. military we learned yesterday could send as many now as 4,000 troops to Africa, to West Africa to help. Do you agree with that U.S. response in terms of is that the right kind of mission for troops? Are you glad to see that happening?

FERGUSON: I'm glad if it's in a certain role where it is in the aspects of going in and setting up things. We are very good at sending up triaging. It is very good at setting up mini cities and the logistics of that to help treat this because otherwise. Pretty much every 30 world country could be devastated by this outbreak and that's where I would like to see them. But I want to be very cautious and careful that we don't put them in real harm's way directly interacting with the virus itself. And I would want to make sure that we have a very clear indication from this government that that is what their role will be in a supportive set up logistics and then we are out.

HARLOW: Marc, quickly. Do you?

HILL: I think Ben and I are in the same page on this. I think the troops need to be there but we need to be very careful. This will actually ultimately prevent a wider spread. And that's what I am hoping for. We have to be careful.

HARLOW: Yes. Let's hope that this can get contained because there have been far too many deaths in West Africa.

Thank you, both, gentlemen. We will see you a little bit later in the show.

Of course, we are continuing to follow those developments at Newark airport where a sick passenger traveling from abroad took ill. We will have the latest straight after the break on what is happening there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Anthony Bourdain "PARTS UNKNOWN" is back this Sunday. His latest adventure takes you to a place you may think you know but it is in fabulous Bourdain styles. It proves you probably don't know it that well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: To the most part the Bronx is overlooked. The never-visited borough in New York City, which is a shame because the Bronx is a magical place with its own energy, its own food, vibe, and rhythm. You've been to Brooklyn. Maybe it's time you took a look at the Bronx.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I can attest to that. The Bronx is awesome. Anthony Bourdain shows you why he's so thrilled to explore the Bronx on "PARTS UNKNOWN" tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

Now this, Friday's job report had something for everybody to cheer about. More than 200,000 jobs added in September adding fuel to those who see a slow but steady recovery. Our chief business correspondent Christine Romans takes a look inside the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A strong jobs report in September. The economy adding 248,000 net new jobs bringing us back to this level we'd seen in the summer of 200,000-plus you want to see that continue even more exciting an unemployment rate that fell below six percent. We haven't seen this since 2008, July 2008 to be exact. 5.9 percent unemployment rate.

When you look at the recovery, you can see this trend has been slowly building. A jobless rate way back in 2009 that hit 10 percent, since then slowing going down here to below six percent right now. What does the job growth look like? Because this is what's so important. What is the trend? Is it consistent? When you look at every month this year on average 226,000 jobs created that's the strongest monthly performance in recent memory going back to before the recession.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Christine, thank you for that.

We're talking economics and, you know, it always is political when you talk about the jobs report. Let's bring in CNN commentators Marc Lamont Hill and also Ben Ferguson.

You saw Christine's report. Unemployment is at 5.9 percent. That is a lot better. It's a six-year low. And 248,000 jobs created last month. There are still, though, some underlying numbers that are really critical that don't make the headlines. You've got less than 63 percent of Americans participating in the labor force the lowest since the 1970s. You got three million Americans long-term unemployed, meaning they've been out of work six months or longer.

Marc, you know, when you are out of work for six months or longer, what that means it is harder for you to get a job.

HILL: It's considerably harder.

HARLOW: Isn't there still cause for concern? HILL: Absolutely. I don't think we are out of the woods? You know,

whenever this unemployment number, we should be concerned and over the past five years that we've seen progressive growth in jobs and also the rate of job increases. The unemployment rate dropped and those are good things and positive signs. I remember five years ago people said this will never happen. You know, we are going to continue to plummet and we haven't. It's simply untrue.

But the question now is how can we continue to get people back into the labor force to increase the pool itself and also for the people who are on jobs to create more living wages, to create long-term security for them because it's not just about having a job, it's about having a living wage job.

HARLOW: Yes. And, of course, Ben, minimum wage has been front and center throughout this president's term. We've seen increasingly states, cities raising their minimum wage significantly even though there hasn't been movement on the federal level. This issue of, you know, you still have three million Americans long-term unemployed and they are struggling and they just cannot get a job it gets harder for them by the month. Go ahead.

FERGUSON: but you got a lot of these jobs that are being created, unfortunately, are part time job hours.

HARLOW: Right.

FERGUSON: They're not full-time jobs. And so, these numbers on the surface are something that in politics you would I think take a victory lap on. Have a big backdrop that talks about a recovery. But I think this administration is actually smart not to do that. You didn't see some big announcement and big --

HARLOW: No.

FERGUSON: You know, run around yesterday because they know that the reality is these numbers aren't actually real. There is a lot of people that have just literally --

HARLOW: Wait. What?

HILL: They are real, Ben!

HARLOW: No, let me break in, guys. Let me explain what Ben is talking about and that is that the unemployment rate does not count people who have given up looking for a job in this country. That is why the headline number doesn't say it all.

HILL: That's absolutely true. But that doesn't shift it, Ben. Go ahead, Ben, finish.

FERGUSON: You have the president whose approval rating on the economy is in the 30 percentile area. And the reason why it is, is because a lot of people have stopped even looking for a job or they have fewer hours than what they need to take care of their families. And that's why I'm saying truly, I think the administration was smart. You don't jump on this and praise it too much because then people say, do you have any idea how bad it is out there for me? I'm only working 21 hours or 23 hours instead of 40.

HILL: That's a great backhanded compliment.

FERGUSON: No, it's honest. If you are out of work, it's honest.

HILL: You say the Obama administration is smart for not taking credit of the success because it's not really a success.

FERGUSON: I'm saying for overplaying.

HILL: Yes. But I mean, it is a success, Ben. The same people who are saying these numbers aren't real were appealing to these numbers five years ago to say why the president was doing a poor job despite the fact that much of the economic collapse preceded him.

HARLOW: Let's talk about this being the final jobs report before those midterm elections on November 4th. You know, it's the economy, the economy, the economy, that's what we hear all the time around the election. However, right now, it's ISIS, its Ebola and the economy.

Ben, do you think the economy is front and center during the midterms?

FERGUSON: Mark my words, you are not going to see a lot of candidates especially in areas that are not having a great economic time right now go out and run on these numbers because it will make them look completely out of touch with the hurt of the people in their districts, in their communities who are underemployed or just stopped looking for a job. And if it was so great to, Marc, you would have Democrats that would be running on this and they're not because they know the numbers are not really what the people are seeing on the streets. There are too many that are not employed.

HARLOW: Marc, when you look at -- when you look at the upcoming elections, do you think it is economy number one or is it homeland security and the threat of Ebola?

HILL: Well, I mean, I think there's a difference between things that people are concerned with primarily at a particular moment and things that people vote on. No one is going to the voting booth and pulling a lever for or against Ebola because I think we are on the same page with that.

At this point over the last month, people have starting, you know, formally celebrated that president airstrikes, those who were in the camp in believing in him. So, in both of those camps, I'm not sure that those issues are divisive enough. I think ultimately people are going to say am I doing better than I was. And they --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: And we know the latest CNN/ORC poll on Thursday showed 57 percent of those polled felt the economy is poor, 42 percent feel it's good. That's a reflection of the American people.

HILL: That's what we should be working on.

HARLOW: Guys, thank you for being with us.

FERGUSON: That's not the only poll that matters I think is that when you just said.

HARLOW: Why do I sense some sarcasm in you -- Ben? We are not going to let you go. And stick around. We will have you more on this evening as we hit the top of the hour here.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being here. Thank you all for watching. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow.