Seen through the window of his Oval Office, President Barack Obama talks with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell for an update on the new Ebola virus diagnosis in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

updated at 12:30 with details from the White House

WASHINGTON — President Obama has ordered additional federal steps to help hospitals halt Ebola, and wants an expedited report into a breach of protocol that led to a second infection.

He got an update on the Ebola situation this afternoon from Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

This morning, the president was briefed on the diagnosis of a second Ebola patient in Dallas by his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco. By phone this afternoon, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell updated him on the response to the diagnosis.

According to the White House, the president directed Burwell to take several steps.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) investigation into the apparent breach in infection control protocols at the Dallas hospital move as expeditiously as possible;
• The additional officers CDC has dispatched to Dallas work closely with state and local authorities as well as hospital staff to review infection control procedures and the use of personal protective equipment;
• Lessons learned from that inquiry are shared quickly and broadly; and,
• Federal authorities take immediate additional steps to ensure hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide are prepared to follow protocols should they encounter an Ebola patient.

A small group of reporters on duty at the White House were briefly allowed to photograph the president on the phone through the windows of the Oval Office.

The press pool had been loaded into vans, preparing for a presidential golf outing on this clear, crisp Sunday, when they were unexpectedly brought back to the briefing room to witness the call.

After the call with Burwell, Obama motorcaded to Fort Belvoir, south of Washington, for a round of golf with three White House aides: Joe Paulsen, deputy political director; Mike Brush, director of advance; and Marvin Nicholson, travel director.

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