HSEM chief takes part in telecom with Obama over Ebola

Homeland Security and Emergency Management special adviser Marvin K. Seman was briefed about the federal government’s plans to fight the Ebola contagion by no less than President Barrack Obama himself during a teleconference earlier this month.

“They highlighted some of the plans that the President had mentioned during a conference. It was an in-person [teleconference] so it wasn’t a recording or an echoing of what the president wanted. He was actually on the line so it gave us the opportunity to engage with him if we wanted to,” Seman said.

The teleconference with Obama was coordinated by the National Governors Association and the White House and involved the heads of various departments under Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, and Department of Homeland Security.

“[Obama] basically expressed concern about the Ebola crisis that is happening in West Africa and the efforts the U.S. is trying to do to help curb that number. As you know there are over 4,500 fatalities associated with this and suspected Ebola cases are popping up just about every part of the world because it’s considered an international concern.”

Seman said that, as part of the U.S. family, the CNMI should be prepared to deal with the contagion like other parts of the nation.

“We’re on the same field. We’re under the U.S. flag and there are a lot of guidance and coordination coming out just about every day in terms of understanding Ebola and about its threat and how it poses [a danger] to the community and that we need to take it seriously.”

He said the most important information being disseminated on Ebola is for people to be vigilant about the disease.

“We have to be very vigilant. That’s the main thing. We’re not trying to instill panic. Ebola, just like any virus that enters a human body, reacts to it almost similarly. You get fever, you start sweating, coughing, headache, body ache. So it mimics just about every type of virus most of the time. From Homeland Security’s perspective, we just want to track everything around us and see what trends are coming in.”

Seman said the problem sometimes is that when HSEM steps in, people think it tends to overkill the response efforts.

“But there’s nothing worse than under-responding to a situation because the ramifications are not acceptable,” he said.

The local HSEM chief said Obama is looking at the Ebola crisis as a national security concern. “He was very firm with what he wants. He’s very concerned. He reiterated time and time again during the phone conversation that this has become now a national security priority.”

Seman’s advise to the community is to learn anything and everything it can about Ebola, albeit they should make sure it comes from the proper channels.

“My message to the community right now is to be vigilant. Information, the right information, is power and knowledge to them. Learning and understanding about Ebola through the CDC or DHS websites or public health is the right way to go. Getting the right information and understanding what is Ebola and what it is not is the better way for people to be prepared. Having the wrong information or having little information, you tend to overreact and that’s what causes a lot of problems. When you overreact to a situation, we overestimate and we start accusing whoever has the flu as an Ebola patient.”