--- title: Ebola Flights Texas Rick Perry: Gov. Calls for Travel Ban description: Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on the federal government to impose a ban on air travel from the West African countries hardest hit by Ebola. canonical: https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-17T18:28:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:27.426Z article:section: Health og:title: Ebola Flights Texas Rick Perry: Gov. Calls for Travel Ban og:description: Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on the federal government to impose a ban on air travel from the West African countries hardest hit by Ebola. og:url: https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10e3cbfeca5d182/6987616f8e06014c79457c65/rick-perry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4378 og:image:height: 2463 og:image:alt: Rick Perry og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ebola Flights Texas Rick Perry: Gov. Calls for Travel Ban twitter:description: Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on the federal government to impose a ban on air travel from the West African countries hardest hit by Ebola. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10e3cbfeca5d182/6987616f8e06014c79457c65/rick-perry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rick Perry Wants to Ban Air Travel From West Africa Amid Ebola Outbreak > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=ed98f7c0-a897-4430-bfd1-40012f6fa61e&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Science Cop: Ebola Fear Mongers [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: Ebola Fear Mongers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fwl31d5e.m3u8) (2:30)  _Published 2014-10-10. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the media figures stirring up panic in the aftermath of the ebola outbreak._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 17, 2014 6:28 PM UTC  Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, delivers the keynote address at a Heritage Foundation event titled "The Border Crisis and New Politics of Immigration," August 21, 2014. Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, delivers the keynote address at a Heritage Foundation event titled "The Border Crisis and New Politics of Immigration," August 21, 2014. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 17, 2014 6:28 PM UTC Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday called on the federal government to impose a ban on air travel from the West African countries hardest hit by Ebola, joining a growing list of politicians supporting such a travel restriction. Perry reasoned a ban is the right move given that the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, Thomas Eric Duncan, traveled from Ebola-ridden Liberia to eventually reach Texas, the [Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/52d40a4bb0e542d2b696311f88d9159d/texas-gov-perry-calls-travel-ban-due-ebola) reports. The governor’s call for travel restrictions is a reversal of his stance from just 10 days ago when he said an enhanced medical screening process would be more effective at keeping Ebola out of the country. “The impact from banning flights from these areas is not going to be an efficient way to deal with this,” Perry said last week, according to [_The Hill_](http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/220012-rick-perry-no-ebola-flight-bans)_._ Referring to a travel ban, Perry added, “There are some that would make the argument that it would \[hamper the fight against Ebola\].” Several prominent Republican politicians in particular, including Mitt Romney, have called for flight restrictions, but many health officials say that such a ban would only [hurt efforts](http://time.com/3517197/ebola-frieden-travel-ban/) to contain the disease. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/52d40a4bb0e542d2b696311f88d9159d/texas-gov-perry-calls-travel-ban-due-ebola)\] ## Transcript Ebola in America . >> Out of control . >> Killer disease >> Spreading fast >> Ebola >> On the backs of ISIS >> There's a lot of panic >> Chilling, deadly, dangerous >> Scarier by the moment >> Shut down the flights, secure the borders . >> By now you've heard about Americas Ebola crisis, the disease has landed on our shores and a few blown epidemic is on the way. That's scary stuff, but almost none of it is true. And here's why. [ MUSIC ] There's no denying that Ebola is a terrifying disease. The current outbreak has struck about 7, 500 people in Africa so far. And almost half have died. The nature of that death with organs breaking down and bleeding out is one of the worst kinds of suffering imaginable. But put simply Ebola is not a easy virus to contract, while a disease like flu can be spread by shaking hands with someone who is infected, Ebola is spread by direct contact with bodily fluid such as the blood of vomit of someone who is infected. And symptomatic. A victim who was infected but not yet showing symptoms will typically not transmit the disease. But you won't hear that from the fear mongers, some of whom support clamping down on travel to and from the affected areas in Africa, which is exactly the wrong thing to do. According to the centers for disease control that would make it harder to get doctors and medical supplies back and fourth perhaps crippling efforts to wipe out the disease at its source and while cable news speculates that a terrorist infected with Ebola could board mass transit and spread the disease to everyone on board that could happen only if all of the passengers sat patiently. While the terrorist went from one to another, and bled or vomited on each, with their full cooperation. So, should we be afraid of Ebola? Of course. It's a very lethal and very ugly disease. But is America in any immediate danger? [ MUSIC ] No. Our real job is to care for the people who were infected, sensibly protect those who aren't, and lend our considerable resources to battling the disease in Africa, where people have no time for this silly luxury of fear mongers [ UNKNOWN ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/"},"headline":"Rick Perry Wants to Ban Air Travel From West Africa Amid Ebola Outbreak","datePublished":"2014-10-17T18:28:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:27.426Z","description":"He joins a growing list of politicians calling for such a ban","url":"https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/","keywords":["ebola","Texas","Travel","mitt romney","rick perry","travel ban"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10e3cbfeca5d182/6987616f8e06014c79457c65/rick-perry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10e3cbfeca5d182/6987616f8e06014c79457c65/rick-perry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rick Perry","caption":"Rick Perry","creditText":"Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/","name":"Rick Perry Wants to Ban Air Travel From West Africa Amid Ebola Outbreak"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Science Cop: Ebola Fear Mongers","description":"TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the media figures stirring up panic in the aftermath of the ebola outbreak.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Fwl31d5e/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-10T20:03:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fwl31d5e.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/","duration":"PT2M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3517650/rick-perry-ebola-travel/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```