Members of Maine’s congressional delegation said Tuesday that they support increased screening of incoming international travelers in light of the Ebola outbreak, but oppose a blanket ban on travel from West Africa.

“This Ebola outbreak is a serious and constantly evolving health crisis,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat. “I believe we need to take a very close look at what our screening procedures are in airports, and take steps to strengthen them so that we can better identify travelers from Ebola-stricken countries who may still be asymptomatic.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. Susan Collins agreed, as did two of the candidates for Maine congressional seats.

“I fully support increased passenger screening procedures here in the United States, but do not believe an outright ban on travel between the U.S. and Africa is appropriate at this point,” Pingree said.

The Obama administration and federal health officials say they plan to announce tougher screening procedures in the coming days. Some officials have said this may include questionnaires about travel histories and taking temperatures of arriving passengers. Passengers leaving the outbreak region already are screened for fever and asked about contact with Ebola patients.

“We should immediately begin screening at all U.S. airports any person who is traveling to the United States from a country affected by an Ebola epidemic,” said Collins, who has not called for a flight ban.

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But the recent case of an infected traveler in Texas has raised concerns. Collins said the incident “suggests that the Obama Administration has not done a very good job of preparing our nation’s hospitals to make sure that any potential Ebola cases are promptly isolated and handled appropriately.”

Bruce Poliquin, the Republican candidate for Michaud’s open seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, echoed those concerns.

“We were told Ebola would never make it to the United States. It did. We have been reassured repeatedly by the government that there is nothing to worry about. There is,” he said in an email. “Washington has not acted with clarity to prevent the spread of this infection, and it should be a major priority of ours to ensure that our borders and ports are protected, especially with the knowledge that infected people may be routed through Bangor International Airport.”

Poliquin did not respond to questions on whether he would support a ban on flights from affected countries.

Shenna Bellows, a Democrat challenging Collins, said she supports tougher screening.

“I support the president’s tightened monitoring, and think what he is showing is a common sense, practical approach to confronting Ebola that is grounded in science,” Bellows said. “It’s not practical or desirable to seal our borders. But we can and should fight the Ebola virus with every tool we have.”

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Michaud was also against a ban, saying it could hurt efforts to end the outbreak.

Independent Sen. Angus King was traveling to India with a congressional delegation Tuesday night and was not available.

Maine has two international airports, in Portland and Bangor, but neither has regularly scheduled direct commercial flights arriving from overseas.

However, two flights carrying people infected with Ebola stopped to refuel at Bangor International Airport, which regularly serves as an emergency landing field for overseas flights.

Portland International Jetport Executive Director Paul Bradbury said local emergency directors met last week to go over procedures in light of the Ebola outbreak. International travelers also arrive in Maine on cruise ships, the Nova Star ferry and commercial shipping lines, he noted. The Coast Guard, which sent out a national bulletin about Ebola in August that reminded vessels they have to report any passenger with symptoms, is checking vessels headed into U.S. ports to determine if they had visited an Ebola-affected country in their last five ports of call.

There are 20 quarantine stations in the U.S. designed to limit the spread of contagious disease from international travelers. Airline pilots and ship captains are required to contact them if they think a passenger is ill. The nearest quarantine station to Maine is in Boston.

Congressional candidate Emily Cain’s office did not return calls seeking comment.


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