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Del. Senator Travels To Liberia To See American Response To Ebola Outbreak

By David Madden

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Delaware US Senator Chris Coons is on a fact finding trip to Liberia to see how worldwide response to the Ebola outbreak in that country is working out.

He could not convince any colleagues in Washington to make the trip, so it's Coons and an aide making their way alone to meet with American troops and Liberian officials.

"Given that we're going to commit significant American resources to making sure we develop a vaccine and we deploy the troops and the health service folks, we need to end Ebola in West Africa. I thought it was important to take a several day trip to conduct oversight."

Coons is not expected to go to any areas where Ebola patients are being treated. When he returns on Tuesday, the senator and his aide will monitor their health for three weeks, as suggested by doctors.

Neither will quarantine themselves, although Coons says his wife may want him to sleep in the guest bedroom for awhile.

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