An American doctor infected with the deadly Ebola virus while working to save patients infected with the disease in Liberia has arrived in the U.S. on Saturday with the second American expected to arrive later this week.

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Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, arrived on Saturday noon at the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia and was driven by ambulance to the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta where he is to be treated by a special medical team trained for such diseases.

Nancy Writebol, 59, a missionary who worked with Brantly in Liberia, is expected to follow later this week.

Local TV footage showed Brantly – escorted by two medical personnel – as he climbed down from the ambulance and walked into the hospital. All three wore special biohazard masks and suits.

Emory University Hospital infectious diseases specialist Bruce Ribner said that bringing home Brantly and Writebol is both a medical obligation and a humanitarian duty, noting that both would have better chances of survival in the U.S. where they would receive advanced care and treatment compared to that in Africa.

He added that the hospital staff has been supportive of the mission, adding that it’s all part of being an “advanced healthcare facility.”

Two nurses in Ribner’s department had reportedly cancelled their vacation plans to treat the patients.

The special facility in Emory is one of only four in the country specially-equipped to deal with such cases and was set up in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ribner said the patients will be housed in a special highly contained unit and treated by medical staff trained specifically for such cases.

The facilities were previously used to treat patients infected with SARS and the Marburg fever which is similar to Ebola.

While there have been protests against bringing home infected citizens mainly fueled by fears of the likelihood of an outbreak in the U.S., opposition has been minimal and mostly restricted among right-wing experts and individuals on social media, the LA Times reported.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) told media he believed that Brantly and Writebol shouldn’t be deprived of going back to the country.

“I don’t think we should be so spooked because of the novelty of this terrible virus that we turn our back on Americans who are troubled,” he said.

Ernie Surunis, a local who was at the Emory hospital for a conference said, “We can’t leave them (in Africa) to die. They went over to help other people.”

Although there is no known cure, Emory’s infectious disease specialists are confident and ready to treat the two patients.

Ribner said it was important the two patients received “supportive care” such as monitoring and maintaining blood pressure, supporting respiration, and safeguarding against possible kidney failure, which he said would help the body recover to fight off the virus.

TagsKent Brantly, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Nancy Writebol, Bruce Ribner, Emory Hospital, Emory University Hospital, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, SARS, Marburg, Adam Schiff