Good Morning America filmed Dr. Richard Besser as he prepared to enter an Ebola Ward in Monrovia, Liberia. What they produced was a one-minute video called “What It Takes To Enter an Ebola Ward.” Dr. Besser is seen smiling in scrubs, then donning a yellow hazmat looking suit, latex gloves, mask, head cover. The video is set in fast-motion (a pace similar to old, black-and-white silent films) and to the ticking of a clock. The technique, understandably used to indicate the prep time involved, nevertheless struck some viewers as a bit too Chaplin-esque for such a serious subject.
Dr. Besser later reported that he and his producer saw a burial team working along the road. When the team sprayed the body down with bleach, “the dead man moved his arm – just a little, but clearly a sign of life.” The burial team unwrapped him and put him back on the ground. Dr. Besser reported, “The man was alive but looked like he would only last a few more hours.” The man was taken away by an ambulance. Dr. Besser’s report ended on a happy note. When the ambulance arrived, “The crowd went wild cheering.”
