Officials in Dallas "haven't done as well as we need to do," in handling the first diagnosed cases of Ebola in the United States, but they have taken action to improve upon mistakes that were made, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"I've tried not to throw anybody under the bus through this process. We, as a team, haven't done as well as we need to do. I'm very upset about it," Rawlings said Friday. "We're holding up. And, we've taken action to move forward to isolate people, and we're doing well."
The mistakes began when Thomas Eric Duncan went to an emergency room in September at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and was sent home with antibiotics. Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola when he returned to the hospital a few days later.
A nurses union reported that protocols issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were not followed in caring for Duncan.
He died Oct. 8, and two nurses who treated him were diagnosed with Ebola following his death.
There were also issues around delays in
cleaning the apartment where Duncan stayed before he entered the hospital, and
implementing restrictions for hospital workers who cared for him.
Rawlings said Americans expected "perfection," and that the Ebola response in Dallas had not "been performing at that level." He said hospitals around the country would be able to "learn from Dallas" about preparedness for addressing disease.
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