HEALTH-EBOLA/US SOLDIERS ISOLATION U.S. soldiers isolated in Italy are ''doing great'', says general

Record ID: 708209

  • Title: HEALTH-EBOLA/US SOLDIERS ISOLATION U.S. soldiers isolated in Italy are ''doing great'', says general
  • Date: 28th October 2014
  • Summary: VICENZA, ITALY (OCTOBER 28, 2014) (REUTERS) EDERLE U.S. ARMY BASE EXTERIOR JOURNALISTS DURING VIDEO CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) GENERAL DARRYL WILLIAMS, COMMANDER OF US ARMY AFRICA, SPEAKING ON VIDEO-LINK, SAYING: ''We are all very excited about getting back here in Italy but while we are in this 21-days continuous monitoring effort there will no contacts with our families, no contacts with the great citizens of Italy or Vicenza.'' VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) GENERAL DARRYL WILLIAMS, COMMANDER OF US ARMY AFRICA, SPEAKING ON VIDEO-LINK, SAYING: ''A great question. We wake up every morning...and I look at these beautiful mountains, and I look at this beautiful Italy and so I am only inspired by what I see. So, the soldiers are doing great, we are not frustrated at all. Of course we are soldiers and we are used to executing orders. You know, I am at work every day. My typical day, we get up, we exercise, we have a great breakfast, and then, we have to arrange ourselves into small area, so we go over and work, I have a computer ability, I have the ability to talk to you right now, we can watch a movie at night, we are eating great, I skype with my wife every night, I am able to talk to her and all the soldiers can do as well.'' MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) GENERAL DARRYL WILLIAMS, COMMANDER OF US ARMY AFRICA, SPEAKING ON VIDEO-LINK, SAYING: ''It's going very well. We were asked to do a few things and I can go through this very quickly: provide our engineering expertise, train and help workers and do some construction with engineering expertise. We were asked to put our logistical might in support of the government of Liberia.'' MEDIA VIEW OF CITY CENTRE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) VICENZA RESIDENT FRANCA ZONIN SAYING: ''I am a bit worried but I think we must accept this as a fact. My main hope is that they are and will be telling us the truth.'' (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) VICENZA RESIDENT LORIS SPINA SAYING: ''Absolutely not worried. I know that they have been isolated because of procedure rather than real risks. It looks like a reasonable measure. The mayor has reassured us, officials are reassuring us and don't think they would lie.'' (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) VICENZA RESIDENT ANTONIO BRIGHELLA SAYING: ''Clearly, the disease should not be underestimated, given what you see on TV or on the internet about it. And Americans are quite good at not telling the truth. We can only base ourselves on what television says. But basically, Ebola must not be underestimated.'' CITY
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3P5HV1NAEGZMF6DPCYI03J3SD
  • Story Text: U.S. soldiers returning from an Ebola response mission in West Africa and kept in isolation in the base in northern Italy where they are based are doing 'great', their commander said on Tuesday (October 28) speaking to journalists via a video-link.
    The 11 soldiers, including the commander of U.S. Army Africa, Darryl Williams, are being kept in isolation for 21 days even though they showed no symptoms of infection and were not believed to have been exposed to the deadly virus.
    The decision goes well beyond previously established military protocols and came just as President Barack Obama's administration sought to discourage precautionary quarantines being imposed by some U.S. states on healthcare workers returning from countries battling Ebola.
    In a statement, the Army said Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno ordered the 21-day monitoring period for returning soldiers "to ensure soldiers, family members and their surrounding communities are confident that we are taking all steps necessary to protect their health."
    ''We are all very excited about getting back here in Italy but while we are in this 21-days continuous monitoring effort there will no contacts with our families, no contacts with the great citizens of Italy or Vicenza'' Major General Darryl Williams, who oversaw the military's initial response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, told journalists during the news conference.
    He described comfortable accommodations, saying his group had access to a gym and were "eating great."
    ''We wake up every morning...and I look at these beautiful mountains, and I look at this beautiful Italy and so I am only inspired by what I see. So, the soldiers are doing great, we are not frustrated at all'' Major general Williams said.
    ''Of course we are soldiers and we are used to executing orders. You know, I am at work every day. My typical day, we get up, we exercise, we have a great breakfast, and then, we have to arrange ourselves into small area, so we go over and work, I have a computer ability, I have the ability to talk to you right now, we can watch a movie at night, we are eating great, I skype with my wife every night, I am able to talk to her and all the soldiers can do as well'' Williams said.
    The U.S. military has repeatedly stressed that its personnel are not interacting with Ebola patients and are instead building treatment units to help health authorities battle the epidemic. Up to 4,000 U.S. troops may be deployed on the mission.
    Williams said he was hyper-vigilant in Liberia, taking his temperature up to eight times a day.
    He also expressed satisfaction at the achievements of the mission.
    ''It's going very well. We were asked to do a few things and I can go through this very quickly: provide our engineering expertise, train and help workers and do some costruction with engineering expertise. We were asked to put our logistical might in support of the government of Liberia'' Williams said.
    Williams' team built two mobile labs for quick diagnoses, with four more to come shortly, a 25-bed hospital, to open next week, manned by U.S. public health experts and 12 Ebola treatment Units, the mayor general said.
    Locals in Vicenza expressed some concerns, but no real anxiety.
    ''I am a bit worried but I think we must accept this as a fact. My main hope is that they are and will be telling us the truth'' said Franca Zonin, a Vicenza resident.
    ''Absolutely not worried. I know that they have been isolated because of procedure rather than real risks. It looks like a reasonable measure. The mayor has reassured us, officials are reassuring us and don't think they would lie'' said another one, Loris Spina.
    Some, however, had less confidence in authorities despite reassurances that none of the soldiers is symptomatic or got in contact with Ebola-stricken patients.
    ''Clearly, the disease should not be underestimated, given what you see on TV or on the internet about it. And Americans are quite good at not telling the truth. We can only base ourselves on what television says. But basically, Ebola must not be underestimated'' said Antonio Brighella.
    So far, the Army is the only U.S. military service to order isolation, which also applies to dozens of other soldiers due back at Vicenza later this week. But the military is weighing a similar measure across the armed forces, officials said.

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