CONFIDENCE NOT INSPIRED: The Hill: Health officials clam up about effort to contain Ebola in Texas.

Health officials are refusing to answer growing questions about their response to the first Ebola case in the United States.

Under intense questioning from reporters, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Texas health department and the City of Dallas repeatedly declined Thursday to provide details about the steps being taken to prevent an outbreak.

Texas Health Commissioner David Lakey, who participated in one press call Thursday, would not identify or describe the four individuals who have been quarantined due to possible exposure to Ebola. They were later referred to as “family members” at a separate press conference.

Officials confirmed that roughly 100 people are being questioned about possible exposure to the virus — up from reports of more than 80 earlier in the day. Only a “handful” likely could have caught the virus, they said, and no one but the patient is showing symptoms.

Lakey would not explain why the quarantine order was necessary, saying only that it brings “confidence” that key medical monitoring will take place. Another official said later that the four individuals sought to leave home, but would not provide more detail.

Lakey also declined to answer questions about the hospital communication error that allowed the Ebola patient, identified by media outlets as Thomas Eric Duncan, to return home Friday after seeking treatment.



”Unfortunately, connections weren’t made related to travel history and symptoms,” he said. 

”I don’t have that final analysis right now. … We’re still investigating how the information fell through the cracks.”

While health officials have vowed transparency as they deal with the Ebola patient, they are also charged with maintaining calm. Officials stress that they are trying to avoid spreading misinformation.

The best way to maintain calm is to be trustworthy.