By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an urgent appeal Wednesday for the international community to do more to combat the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
“While we are making progress, we are not where we can say that we need to be, and there are additional needs that have to be met in order for the global community to be able to properly respond to this challenge and to make sure that we protect people in all of our countries,” he said.
“We need people to step up now," Kerry said. "Now is the time for action, not words. And frankly, there is not a moment to waste in this effort."
Kerry said an additional $300 million is needed from donors to properly combat the virus, which has killednearly 3,900 people across West Africa, and has begun to spread to parts of Europe and the U.S.
Kerry was speaking during a joint press conference with U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
Hammond, who took part in an emergency cabinet meeting via video link Wednesday morning, said that the UK would deploy a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship to Freetown, the Sierra Leonean capital, along with three Merlin helicopters to provide "communication and transport capability" for ongoing efforts to combat the disease in the country.
The U.K. has committed more than $200 million to its efforts there, and is conducting trials on a new model of an Ebola care unit for those with early-stage symptoms of the virus, according to Hammond.
Kerry and Hammond’s comments shortly followed the first death in the U.S. from the virus. Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, died Wednesday in a Texas hospital after being diagnosed Sept. 28. He arrived in the U.S. from Liberia seven days before he was diagnosed.
Those infected with the virus may take up to 21 days after infection before showing symptoms. Symptoms include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, disarrhea, vomitting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
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