Obama announces major increase in US response to Ebola outbreak

President Barack Obama speaks as Dr. Tom Frieden (right), Director of CDC, listens at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday, September, 16, 2014.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

President Barack Obama speaks as Dr. Tom Frieden (right), Director of CDC, listens at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday, September, 16, 2014.

4:30 p.m.: Obama left the CDC on Clifton Road and is headed back to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Expect major traffic delays, including rolling closures on Clifton, Briarcliff, North Druid Hills, and then I-85/southbound.

4:15 p.m.: Obama calls on philanthropies to help curb the outbreak that is "spiraling out of control… and spreading exponentially."

4:14 p.m.: Plans are set for more than 1,000 beds and new treatment centers as part of Obama's plan to combat the Ebola outbreak. He said the U.S. plans to create an air bridge to get medical personnel into the areas of the outbreak.

4:10 p.m.: Obama announces plans for a military command center in Liberia to help deal with the outbreak. He also announced there would be a training site to train thousands of health workers.

4:08 p.m.: Obama: Ebola is spreading out of control. If the outbreak isn't stopped now, hundreds of thousands of people could become infected. "We have to act fast," he said. "People are literally dying in the streets." It's an epidemic, the likes we've never seen before, the president said.

4:06 p.m.: The president wants the American people know that the chance of an outbreak here in the U.S. are extremely low.

4:04 p.m.: Obama says faced with this outbreak, "the world is looking to us. We are prepared to take the lead on this."

4:00 p.m.: President begins speaking at news conference at CDC.

2:35 p.m.: President's motorcade now on N. Druid Hills Road heading toward Briarcliff. Interstate closures opening now or soon.

2:15 p.m.: Traffic alert: I-75/sb ramp to I-85/nb Brookwood blocked, Buford-Spring Connector ramp to I-85/nb blocked, Clifton blocked near CDC.

2 p.m.: Obama greets Mayor Kasim Reed and other dignitaries on the tarmac.

1:50 p.m.: President Obama arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. He plans to visit Centers For Disease Control to discuss the Ebola outbreak.

ORIGINAL STORY: President Barack Obama will be in Atlanta today so expect traffic issues as roads are shut down to make way for the presidential motorcade.

Here’s what you need to know:

Why he's here: Obama will be paying an afternoon visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get an update on the agency's fight against Ebola.

Big announcement expected: The president is expected to announce plans to assign 3,000 U.S. military personnel to regions of West Africa heavily affected by the Ebola outbreak. Obama is also expected to lay out plans to build 17 100-bed health care facilities in the region.

Track up-to-the-minute traffic reports here. Follow Twitter updates @ajcwsbtraffic.

President's arrival: Air Force One's arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is planned for shortly before 2 p.m. Expect rolling roadblocks and other closures between the airport and the CDC campus in northeast Atlanta.

Departure will clash with rush hour, Braves traffic: The president's departure from Hartsfield is planned for just before 5:30 p.m., which means the motorcade will be disrupting the evening rush hour between the CDC and Hartsfield.

Braves fans headed to Turner Field for the 7:10 p.m. game against Obama’s hometown Washington Nationals could also be delayed by the brief road closures.