FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry is visiting Army troops before they deploy to West Africa to support U.S. efforts to contain and eradicate Ebola.
The Republican is coming to the sprawling Army installation at Fort Hood on Thursday to address the soldiers before they leave. He isn’t seeking re-election in November but is seriously considering a second run for the White House in 2016.
Perry has formed a 17-member task force of top state medical, military, emergency-response and public education officials to better prepare Texas for Ebola and other infectious diseases. He says the medical response system is working and Texans shouldn’t panic.
A 42-year-old Liberian man died Wednesday at a Dallas hospital after becoming the first patient to develop Ebola in the United States.