AKIPRESS.COM - The federal government is ramping up its response to the Ebola crisis after a second Dallas nurse became ill and it was disclosed that she had been cleared to fly a day before her diagnosis, the U.S. media report.

While Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms and only two persons have been known to contract the disease in the U.S., the revelations Wednesday raised new alarms about whether hospitals and the public health system are equipped to handle the deadly disease.

Federal health officials were being called to testify before a congressional committee Thursday to explain where things went wrong.

President Barack Obama directed his administration to respond in a "much more aggressive way" to oversee the Dallas cases and ensure the lessons learned there are transmitted to hospitals and clinics across the country.

For the second day in a row he canceled out-of-town trips to stay in Washington and monitor the Ebola response.