Tom Frieden

Ebola is giving Americans a crash course in fear. Yet, they’re incredibly less likely to get the disease than to get sick worrying about it.

President Barack Obama expressed confidence Wednesday about the ability to contain Ebola in the U.S., taking special note of the ongoing recovery of two nurses who contracted the disease and of others who were declared Ebola free after being exposed to the deadly virus.

Stepping up their vigilance against Ebola, federal authorities said Wednesday that everyone traveling into the U.S. from Ebola-stricken nations will be monitored for symptoms for 21 days. That includes returning American aid workers, federal health employees and journalists, as well as West African travelers.

Defending their response to the deadly virus Ebola while acknowledging some serious missteps with the country’s first patient, officials on Thursday dismissed the idea of banning airline flights from impacted West African nations.