Always Africa, though news from the continent is slow today.
First from the London Daily Mail, which gets it about right:
Ebola hysteria sweeps US schools: Teacher who visited Dallas told not to come to work as hundreds of Mississippi parents pull kids school because principal visited Zambia… 3,000 miles from countries hit by the disease
Maine elementary teacher stayed 9.5 miles from Ebola hospital in Texas
She has been ordered into isolation for 21 days amid ‘parents’ concerns’
In Mississippi, hundreds of parents pulled kids from middle school after principal visited Zambia – a country 3,000 miles from Ebola-hit nations
Parents at nearby high school also removed children to ‘avoid risk’
CNN reports on the growing American Ebolaphobia:
U.S. public ‘very worried’ about Ebola
Program notes:
The fear of Ebola is fraying nerves and ringing false alarms across the country. Ted Rowlands reports.
From AllAfrica, the silver lining in the Ebolaphobia cloud:
How Ebola Could Save Thousands of U.S. Lives
If media coverage of the three Ebola cases in the United States – some of it calling attention to the far greater danger of influenza – causes more people to ask their doctors about a flu shot, Ebola could end up saving many lives
Have you had your flu shot this year?
The highly contagious respiratory infection is linked to as many as 50,000 annual deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). An estimated 20,000 children under five are hospitalized.
If media coverage of the three Ebola cases in the United States – some of it calling attention to the far greater danger of influenza – causes more people to ask their doctors about a flu shot, Ebola could end up saving many lives. Strong statements by Fox news anchor Scott Shepherd and New York Times columnist Frank Bruni (Scarier Than Ebola) are examples of what could prove to be life-saving reporting.
The Pentagon gets busy, via the Los Angeles Times:
Pentagon announces Ebola rapid-response team for U.S. cases of virus
The Pentagon announced Sunday it is putting together a 30-person rapid-response team that could provide quick medical support to civilian healthcare workers if additional cases of the Ebola virus are diagnosed in the United States.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered U.S. Northern Command Commander Gen. Chuck Jacoby to assemble the team, which was requested by the Department of Health and Human Services, said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby.
The team will consist of 20 critical-care nurses, five doctors trained in infectious disease, and five trainers in infectious-disease protocols.
CBC News covers measures to the north:
Canada’s Ebola response gets fresh test in Nova Scotia
One of 5 rapid response teams ready to aid local health authorities
Nova Scotia has been chosen for a second test of Canada’s response to Ebola.
On Sunday, a team from the federal Public Health Agency arrived to brief health-care providers on the techniques they will be reportedly practising on Monday should a confirmed case of Ebola arrive in Canada.
“Drills, dry runs, and practising are important to ensuring that our teams are able to respond without hesitation in the event of a case of Ebola,” Health Minister Rona Ambrose said in a news release.
The agency says if a case of Ebola is ever confirmed in Canada, one of the five Ebola rapid response teams would work with local health authorities to prevent its spread.
Each team comprises a field epidemiologist, an infection control expert, a bio-safety expert, a laboratory expert, a communications expert and a logistics expert. Aircraft are stationed in Winnipeg and Ottawa.
And a video report from the Public Health Agency of Canada:
PHAC Rapid Response Team
Program note:
Ebola Rapid Response Team practices deploying to a simulated case of Ebola
From The Hill, czarist politics:
Praise, criticism for Obama’s Ebola czar pick
President Obama’s selection to lead the administration’s Ebola response drew both praise and criticism from guests on the Sunday morning political shows.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pushed back at GOP opposition to Obama’s new czar, Ron Klain, calling him an “excellent manager.”
Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore and later Vice President Joe Biden, will take the reins of the administration’s Ebola strategy next week. He was named to the position on Friday.
When asked if a healthcare professional would be a better choice, Fauci said “not necessarily.”
From the Washington Post, surprise, surprise:
Why Democrats are sounding like Republicans on Ebola and the GOP is moving into overdrive
Democrats are beginning to sound more like Republicans when they talk about Ebola. And Republicans are moving into overdrive with their criticism of the government’s handling of the deadly virus.
The sharpened rhetoric, strategists say, suggests Democrats fear President Obama’s response to Ebola in the United States could become a political liability in the midterm election and Republicans see an opportunity to tie increasing concerns about the disease to the public’s broader worries about Obama’s leadership.
“This is feeding into the Republican narrative that Democrats don’t know how to govern and government is too large,” said Jim Manley, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). Democrats, Manley said, “are desperate to try to demonstrate that they have tough ideas to respond to the crisis.”
Failure acknowledged, via the Los Angeles Times:
Fauci acknowledges that Ebola guidelines failed to protect caregivers
A top federal health official conceded Sunday that the government-recommended protective gear worn by nurses and doctors caring for patients sickened by Ebola has been inadequate to protect caregivers from infection.
The official, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that medical professionals need gear that would provide complete, head-to-toe coverage, shielding their skin from contact with an Ebola patient’s body or its fluids.
Serving as the Obama administration’s sole spokesman for Ebola on five national television talk shows Sunday, Fauci indicated that new guidelines for “personal-protective’‘ gear were about to be issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He acknowledged that two nurses in Dallas may have been infected by their exposure to an Ebola-infected patient that they cared for who ultimately died, Thomas E. Duncan.
The original guidelines, Fauci said, “did have some exposure of skin in the sense you had a mask—but there was some skin that was exposed and some hair that was exposed.’‘ Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,’‘ Fauci added, “we want to make sure that’s no longer the case.’‘
More failure acknowledged, via the New York Times:
C.E.O. of Texas Hospital Group Apologizes for Mistakes in Ebola Cases
The head of the group that runs the Texas hospital under scrutiny for mishandling Ebola cases apologized Sunday in full-page ads in local Dallas newspapers, saying the hospital “made mistakes in handling this very difficult challenge.”
Barclay E. Berdan, chief executive of the Texas Health Resources, which operates a network of 25 hospitals here, said in an open letter that hospital officials were deeply sorry for having misdiagnosed symptoms shown by Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who was sent home after his first visit to the emergency room of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, but was later readmitted and then died of the virus two weeks later.
“The fact that Mr. Duncan had traveled to Africa was not communicated effectively among the care team, though it was in his medical chart,” Mr. Berdan wrote. “On that visit to the Emergency Department, we did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola. For this we are deeply sorry.”
And a diagnosis from the Progressive:
Top Doc Says Ebola Shows Skewed Priorities
The Ebola crisis has revealed severe deficiencies in how the American health care system works, experts say.
Dr. Walter Tsou, past president of the American Public Health Association and the former health commissioner for Philadelphia, says that the Ebola crisis shows the skewed priorities of the U.S. health care system.
“Our chronic disease-oriented health care system is ill-equipped to address an acute infectious disease outbreak,” Dr. Tsou, a board adviser to Physicians for a National Health Program, tells The Progressive. “We don’t have enough biocontainment units, sufficiently trained experts on how to control for highly infectious disease agents, trained sanitation crews who can clean up and properly handle waste disposal.”
Tsou says that the Ebola epidemic has uncovered big flaws in the global health system, too.
The Los Angeles Times covers Golden State preparations:
Gov. Brown to meet with nursing groups to discuss Ebola preparations
Leaders of two nursing organizations say they plan to meet Tuesday with Gov. Jerry Brown to call on the state to upgrade Ebola training and safety precautions for California health professionals.
The California Nurses Assn. and National Nurses United are asking state regulators to formally adopt what they called “optimal safety standards,” including requirements for Hazmat suits and accelerated hands-on training programs.
“California hospitals have been appallingly slow in moving to enact any effective protocols, much less the highest standards, in response to this virulent Ebola threat that has already infected two nurses in Dallas,” NNU and CNA Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro said in a statement.
And from the New York Times, their ship just came in:
Ebola Watch Lists in U.S. to Shrink, Cruise Passenger Cleared
Some of the dozens of people who are being watched for possible exposure to Ebola in the United States are expected to be cleared on Sunday and Monday, potentially easing concerns about the spread of the disease after two nurses were infected.
A Dallas lab worker who spent much of a Caribbean holiday cruise in isolation tested negative for the deadly virus and left the Carnival Magic liner with other passengers after it docked at Galveston, Texas, early on Sunday morning.
The precautions taken for the cruise passenger reflected widespread anxiety over Ebola in the United States, including calls from some lawmakers for a travel ban on West Africa.
The McClatchy Washington Bureau covers the post-quarantine question:
As 21-day Ebola quarantine ends, what’s to fear?
The first wave of people, including the fiance of Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan, will emerge from a state-ordered, 21-day Ebola quarantine Monday, which should probably spark relief in a region that desperately wants to escape the shadow of the epidemic.
But church officials are considering extra security for Louise Troh and her children amid ongoing fears about Ebola across Dallas-Fort Worth _ and throughout the United States.
Experts who study psychology say the release of 48 people from the Ebola watchlist back into society, and the expected onslaught of news coverage about them shopping at local grocery stores and returning to schools, could fuel another wave of irrational fears.
From the London Daily Mail, doubly devastated:
‘They are left with nothing’: Devastated girlfriend of Ebola patient zero Thomas Eric Duncan to be released from quarantine after Hazmat teams destroyed almost all their belongings
The fiancée of Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan will be released from quarantine at midnight tonight – but will emerged with hardly any possession after they were destroyed by hazmat teams.
Louise Troh, 54, missed her boyfriend’s funeral while she was locked away for the duration of the deadly virus’s 21-day incubation period, which expires tonight.
During the frantic operation to seal off Duncan’s apartment in Dallas and eliminate all traces of the disease, she also lost the majority of her belongings.
Only a few personal documents, some photographs, and a single Bible escaped the cleansing operation.
The McClatchy Washington Bureau covers the latest form of prejudice:
In Texas, Liberian Americans weary of Ebola stigma
When Otto Williams opened his mouth last week to say that he’d be happy to work a new job installing home heating and air conditioning units, the contractor listened to Williams’s accent and asked where he was he from.
“Liberia,” said Williams, 42, an HVAC technician. Knowing the concerns some people have about the Ebola virus, he made sure to smile.
But soon, the contractor mentioned he was in a hurry, excused himself and promised to call Williams back. He didn’t.
“It’s gotten to the point where you don’t want to mention you’re Liberian,” Williams said.
More from the Washington Post:
West Africans in Washington say they are being stigmatized because of Ebola fear
Alphonso Toweh was riding a bus when a man sitting next to him politely asked where he was from.
“Liberia,” said Toweh, a writer from Monrovia who is visiting the Washington area, home to the nation’s second-largest population of African immigrants.
“At that point, the man went far from me,” he said. “He did not want to come close to me. People, once they know you are Liberian — people assume you have the virus in your body, which is not the case.”
The Japan Times covers a patient recovered:
Spain: Nursing assistant clear of Ebola virus
An initial test shows that a nursing assistant who became infected with Ebola in Spain is now clear of all traces of the virus nearly two weeks after she was hospitalized, authorities said Sunday.
Teresa Romero, 44, is the first person known to have contracted the disease outside West Africa in the current outbreak when she tested positive for the virus Oct. 6. She has been in quarantine at Carlos III hospital in Madrid since then.
A statement Sunday said a blood test revealed that Romero’s immune system had eliminated the virus from her body. The statement came from the Spanish government committee in charge of the nation’s Ebola crisis. A second test in the coming hours is needed to absolutely confirm Romero’s recovery, said Manuel Cuenca, microbiology director at Madrid’s Carlos III health care complex.
From the Associated Press, another screening program launched:
Belgium’s main airport to begin Ebola screening
Brussels Airport says it will begin screening passengers arriving from Ebola-stricken countries Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The airport operator says passengers arriving from these three countries will have their temperatures taken starting Monday.
Four flights a week from the area concerned arrive weekly at Brussels Airport. Similar measures were begun Saturday at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, where one daily flight arrives from Conakry, Guinea.
And from the Guardian, a renewed push for Aussie medical aid:
Ebola: Labor renews calls for health workers to be sent to west Africa
Tanya Plibersek says Australia would be in ‘big trouble’ if it waited for virus to spread to Asia Pacific before offering help
Australia would be in “big trouble” if it waited for the Ebola virus to spread to the Asia-Pacific region before acting, the opposition has said, as the government called for bipartisanship on the serious health issue.
The health minister, Peter Dutton, said on Sunday the government continued to talk with other countries about what support could be provided if Australian medical teams were dispatched to west Africa and later needed to be evacuated.
Dutton accused Labor of “playing politics with a very important issue” and indicated that Australia was “ready to rapidly deploy support” if an outbreak occurred in near neighbours such as Papua New Guinea or the Solomon Islands.
Questions from the Associated Press:
Effectiveness of Ebola travel ban questioned
A ban on travel from West Africa might seem like a simple and smart response to the frightening Ebola outbreak there. It’s become a central demand of Republicans on Capitol Hill and some Democrats, and is popular with the public. But health experts are nearly unanimous in saying it’s a bad idea that could backfire.
The experts’ key objection is that a travel ban could prevent needed medical supplies, food and health care workers from reaching Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the nations where the epidemic is at its worst. Without that aid, the deadly virus might spread to wider areas of Africa, making it even more of a threat to the U.S. and the world, experts say.
In addition, preventing people from the affected countries from traveling to the U.S. could be difficult to enforce and might generate counterproductive results, such as people lying about their travel history or attempting to evade screening.
After the jump, China and Japan mull partnerships with Washington, front line nurses speak out, the problem with bushmeat, the sorrows of surviving, a continent’s image tarnished, Washington’s military point man hails progress, the WHO plans an African meet, Nigeria to get an all-clear, troubling news for a British survivor, defenses bolstered in the Gambia, a troubling sign in Zimbabwe, and the African Union sends help, on to Liberia and a presidential cry for help, a hopeful sign, and survivors mask a plea for help — plus a suggestion we really like. . .
People’s Daily covers potential partnering:
China, U.S. eye more cooperation on fighting Ebola
Visiting Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday agreed to enhance cooperation on fighting the Ebola epidemic, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said here after the talks.
Yang noted that Ebola, which continues to spread in West Africa, has become a threat to the public health and requires concerted efforts by the international community.
China and the United States have their respective advantages in fighting the deadly virus, Yang said, adding China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the U.S. as well as the international community to help the affected African countries.
And potential partnership from the Japan Times:
Japan mulls dispatch of Ebola liaison officer to U.S. command in Germany
The Defense Ministry may dispatch a member of the Self-Defense Forces to the U.S. military command in Germany to serve as a liaison officer in the search for countermeasures to Ebola, government sources said Sunday.
By gathering information at the U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, the ministry hopes to identify areas in which the SDF can contribute in combating the spread of the deadly infectious disease from its epicenter in West Africa.
Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whose country is being decimated by the West Africa outbreak, has asked the SDF to dispatch an emergency medical team to help handle the surging tally of Ebola patients.
But a senior Defense Ministry official suggested that the prospects of sending another SDF unit to Africa are low for the time being, saying there is a “limit to what the SDF could do, given its capacity.”
On to Africa, first with CCTV Africa:
Ebola: Nurses speak out as they struggle to save lives
Program notes:
Other African nations are also ramping up their response. Earlier this week the African Union made a plea for its members to send medical staff. And more than 600 medics are to go in from East Africa. But what sort of conditions await them? CCTV’s Katerina Vittozzi went on shift with one nurse in central Liberia. She filed this report.
The Independent ponders origins:
Ebola outbreak: What is bushmeat – and is it behind the disease that has killed thousands?
In December 2013 a two-year old child from the village of Gueckedou in south-eastern Guinea became the first victim of this Ebola outbreak, having contracted the disease from a fruit bat his family had hunted as bushmeat.
Since then Ebola has passed from person-to-person, claiming the lives of thousands and travelling half way around the world.
The severity of this outbreak has led to calls to ban the hunting, selling and eating of bushmeat. Bushmeat is wild animal meat, and often refers to chimpanzees, gorilla, and other monkeys, as well as fruit bats, that are killed so that they can be eaten.
Previous outbreaks of Ebola are also credited to the bushmeat trade, particularly the capturing and butchering of infected animals. It is even thought one or more HIV strains originated from bushmeat hunters in central and western Africa.
From News Corp Australia, the sorrows of surviving:
Ebola: What happens to those who survive?
Around 4500 people have already died with 9000 cases officially recorded across seven countries. The World Health Organisation is warning the virus set for exponential growth with up to 10,000 people infected every week, unless it can be brought under control.
But while countless communities have been devasted by the epidemic, which just three in every 10 people survive, the reality of life after Ebola can be equally devastating.
A recent survey of 1400 people conducted in Sierra Leone found that 96 per cent reported discrimination against those who had been infected, while 76 per cent said they would shun survivors who tried to return to the community.
Children are particularly vulnerable and the UN estimates 3700 have lost at least one parent to the disease, with anecdotal evidence suggesting they are ostracised and avoided when trying to fend for themselves.
A continent’s image in tatters, via the Associated Press:
Ebola: Africa’s image takes a hit
In the United States, some parents fearful of deadly Ebola pulled children out of a school after the principal returned from Zambia, an African nation far from the area hit by the disease. In Geneva, a top U.N. official warned against anti-African discrimination fueled by fears of Ebola. The disease has ravaged a small part of Africa, but the international image of the whole continent is increasingly under siege, reinforcing some old stereotypes.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — the African countries afflicted by the Ebola outbreak — have a combined population of about 22 million on a continent with more than 1 billion people. Their corner of West Africa encompasses an area the size of California, or almost as big as Morocco. Yet the epidemic feeds into a narrative of disaster on a continent of 54 countries that has seen some progress in past years, and false perceptions of Ebola’s reach are hurting African business distant from the affected areas.
“It speaks to a whole discourse about the danger of Africa,” said Michael Jennings, a senior lecturer in international development at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
He cited the recent decision of a British school to postpone a visit by a teacher from the West African country of Ghana after parents expressed concern about the Ebola virus. Ghana does not border the hard-hit nations and has not reported any cases of the disease.
Washington’s military point man hails progress, via USA TODAY:
Top U.S. commander in Ebola fight sees progress
The first of 17 U.S.-built Ebola treatment centers in West Africa will open in a few weeks, the top commander of U.S. troops in the region told USA TODAY on Sunday.
Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams also said new mobile laboratories have cut the time it takes to process blood samples of suspected Ebola victims to two or three hours from three days.
“They are making a huge difference,” Williams said.
Williams, a top Army commander with the Pentagon’s Africa Command, leads the efforts of 571 U.S. troops in Liberia and Senegal. He spoke from his headquarters in Monrovia, Liberia, about the medical facilities troops have rapidly built, the rough conditions they face and the warm reception they’ve received from Liberians.
The WHO plans an African meet, via the Daily Monitor in Kampala:
Uganda asked to host meeting on Ebola virus
The World Health Organisation (WHO), has asked the government to organise and host a conference on Ebola, with the aim of using the platform to share experiences with the rest of the world.
Speaking at the launch of a book titled African Health Leaders last week, Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda revealed that the country had been asked to host the conference because of the role it has played being able to contain the disease during previous attacks.
“The World Health Organisation has asked government to organise a week-long Ebola course in Uganda to share knowledge on how to bring the disease to a halt,” revealed Dr Rugunda.
Some good news from Punch Nigeria:
WHO to declare Nigeria Ebola-free today
The World Health Organisation is preparing to announce that Nigeria has not had a confirmed case of Ebola for 42 days – or two incubation periods of 21 days – just as it did for Senegal on Friday.
WHO on Friday declared Senegal free of Ebola after 42 days passed without a new confirmed case.
“WHO officially declares the Ebola outbreak in Senegal over and commends the country on its diligence to end the transmission of the virus,” the UN health agency had said in a statement.
The benchmark of 42 days is twice the maximum incubation period for the disease.
And troubling news for a British survivor from the Guardian:
Will Pooley told he may not be immune to Ebola as he returns to Sierra Leone
British nurse who survived virus after being airlifted to UK said it was an ‘easy decision’ to go back to help contain outbreak
The British nurse who survived Ebola has flown back to Sierra Leone expressing fears that the world will return to indifference about the plight of Africans when the crisis abates.
Will Pooley is expected to touch down in Freetown on Sunday evening and will resume work on Monday in an Ebola isolation unit run by a team backed by three NHS trusts and a London university.
He said he “can’t see anything changing” in attitudes towards Africa, where diseases such as malaria have already killed 70 times more people than Ebola this year.
From the Gambia, bolstered defenses via The Point:
National Ebola taskforce strengthened
In the continuing efforts to prevent the Ebola virus disease, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has strengthened its taskforce with wider committees to help address the issue.
The taskforce since its formation has been meeting on a regular basis, and has opened its tentacles to both the private and public sectors for more collaboration on the prevention of the disease.
In an interview with The Point recently, the director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Banjul, Modou Njai, who also chaired the communication and mobilization committee, said their task is to ensure the awareness of people about the virus, and to provide communication materials for wider coverage on the dissemination of information on the prevention of the virus.
The Standard in Harare covers a troubling sign in Zimbabwe:
Nurses run away from ‘Ebola’ patient
Deputy Health and Child Care minister, Paul Chimedza has admitted that there are loopholes in the country’s Ebola prevention mechanisms, saying government is working on plugging them.
Speaking at a one-day provincial people’s conference organised by ZimRights on Friday, Chimedza said the Wilkins Hospital Ebola scare provided an opportunity for the country to test its preparedness in dealing with the deadly disease, which has claimed over 4 500 lives in West Africa.
“The Wilkins case was a trial-run for Zimbabwe. It made us reflect on how robust the system is in dealing with the disease in the event of a real case,” he said.
“We saw gaps in the health system. Even the health personnel were not psychologically prepared as others almost ran away when the suspected case was reported at Wilkins. We are praying that we do not get it.”
One group is making a major commitment to West Africa, as CCTV America reports:
African Union sends 600 more medical staff to the Ebola epidemic front-line
Program notes:
African nations are also ramping up their response to Ebola. This week, the African Union made a plea for its members to send medical staff. More than 600 medics will come from East Africa.
From Reuters, a cry for help from the Liberian president:
Liberian leader says Ebola risks ‘lost generation’, urges action
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa risks unleashing an economic catastrophe that will leave a “lost generation” of young West Africans, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said on Sunday, urging stronger international action.
The worst epidemic on record of the deadly virus has now killed more than 4,500 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Eight people have also died in Nigeria and cases have been reported in the United States and Spain.
Johnson Sirleaf said the international reaction to the outbreak, detected in March deep in the forests of southern Guinea, was initially “inconsistent and lacking in clear direction or urgency”.
She said the international community had woken up to the global health risk posed by the epidemic but called for help from every nation with the capacity to do so, either in funding or medical staff and supplies.
“We all have a stake in the battle against Ebola,” she said in an open letter read on the BBC World Service.
FrontPageAfrica offers a potentially hopeful sign:
Ebola Deaths Drop? A Lot of Empty Beds, Fewer Pickups Now
“I think the cases are going down. The way we used to work under pressure picking up sick people and taking them to ETUs has dropped. Sometimes in a day we used to pick up to 30 persons a day. These days, sometimes three to four cases a day. I have a feeling this thing is going down. We all have a feeling it is.” – Sam Bropleh, Ambulance Driver
Liberia continues to lead the death toll, with a little over 2,425 out of 4,447 in countries hit by the virus so far. The virus is seemingly entrenched in West Africa according to the World Health Organization(WHO) with large number of cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea. Nigeria and Senegal managed to contain the few cases in their countries but Ebola is now becoming a cross border affair, crossing into the U.S., Germany and Spain.
Quietly, some local doctors and task force operators are confident that the virus could be greatly contained by the time the U.S. is fully ready to get the ball rolling although the World Health Organization’s projections see it differently with the numbers expected to hit 10,000 weekly by December if activities are not ramped up to contain the virus.
“Far less bodies are being found in the communities and we are taking most bodies from Emergency Treatment Units (ETU’s), meaning most Ebola patients are now making it into ETU’s,” Says Samuel Tetroien Nimley Jr., Commissioner of Police for Intelligence and Interpol Affairs, also a Security Coordinator between the Liberian Ministry of Health and the Red Cross.
The burial team according to Nimley is now burning on average 10-30 corpses daily. “This number represents all deaths within Montserrado County as compared to August of September of 30-79.” But Nimley cautions: “Even though we are experiencing a reduction in the death rate and low numbers in ETU, authorities need, more than ever, to reinforce the protocol to narrow down the transmission through a national isolation, home by home tracing effort.”
And survivors mask a plea for help, via the Liberian Observer:
Network of Ebola Survivors Calls for Support
The Network of Ebola Survivors is calling on the government of Liberia, local and international partners in the fight against the deadly virus to support and empower survivors and the network at large.
Speaking recently at the Information Ministry’s regular Ebola Hour press briefing on Capitol Hill in Monrovia, the chairman of the Network, Karlia Bonarwolo, who is also a Physician Assistant, said the organization has over 100 members but they are enduring hardship due to lack of support for their upkeep and to restart their lives.
According to the chairman, the survivors were not receiving anything from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and partners after being released from the ETU. There is hardly any monitoring of the survivors and counseling by social counsel teams and the mental health people.
We close with a question from the Daily Monitor in Kampala, Uganda, that we think applies equally to America’s corrupt banksters and their political enablers:
Why not isolate corruption suspects like Ebola victims?
Some quick footage of medical workers dressed like astronauts as they handled an Ebola suspect flashed by on TV and my maid remarked, “Kyokka this Ebola must be as dangerous as electricity. You know when you get a shock it is too late to stop it – it is not like any other accident!”
“That is why those handling the Ebola suspects have to be insulated like electricians,” I said.
“No wonder dangerous as it is this Ebola has been chased out of Uganda several times,” observed the minister’s maid who had dropped by. “Every time it raises its head, our medics’ response is swift and uncompromising.”
“I am glad you recognise how serious we are in dealing with dangers that threaten our country,” I noted happily.
“Serious heh heh heh!” exclaimed the minister’s maid. “If you are serious why cant you treat most dangers the way health workers treat Ebola?”
“But we do, at least we try,” I said.
“Why don’t you deal with corruption the same way you do Ebola for instance?” she asked. “Or is corruption not dangerous enough?”
