Reuters
The U.S. will step up efforts to combat the Ebola crisis that’s ravaging West Africa. On Tuesday, President Obama will announce a plan to send 3,000 U.S. military personnel to the region in an effort to rein in the highly contagious virus. The U.S. aims to build 17 new health-care facilities with 100 beds each and train as many as 500 health-care workers a week. It also plans to establish a joint command based in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, to coordinate U.S. and international efforts. A source told the AP that it would take about two weeks to get U.S. personnel set up in the region; he added that the Pentagon has already asked Congress to redirect some of the $500 million for overseas contingency operations to the West Africa efforts. The Ebola virus has so far claimed the lives of more than 2,200 people.