Liberia Closes Borders to Slow Ebola, Finance Ministry Posts Emergency Rules After Worker Death

| WTF News |

Now that the ebola outbreak has reached levels of international concern, the government in Liberia has taken steps to close most of its border crossings to slow the spread of the epidemic. This move comes as country has become ground zero for the worst recent Ebola crisis in west Africa.

AFP
“All borders of Liberia will be closed with the exception of major entry points,” Sirleaf said in a statement late Sunday.

Monrovia’s international airport, a provincial airport and three major crossings were exempted from the closures.

“At these entry points, preventive and testing centres will be established,” she said.

Over the weekend, Nigeria placed all of its ports on what it called “red alert” to screen travelers for symptoms of the virus.

Al Jazeera
“All ports of entry into Nigeria, including airports, seaports and land borders, are placed on red alert,” he said.

“Ministry of Health specialists have been positioned in all entry points. Active surveillance has also been stepped up.”

Authorities are investigating anyone who may have come into contact with the deceased, Chukwu said.

“We have already gotten in touch with all the passengers,” he said. “We are monitoring and investigating.”

Bernice Dahn, the Liberian chief medical officer, identified the Ebola victim as a government official with the finance ministry.

Emergency procedures have been put in place at the workplace of the same man as a result of his death after collapsing at the airport in Lagos, the 4th largest city in the world.

Press Release via AllAfrica.com

In the wake of the rapid spread of the deadly Ebola virus and the recent untimely death of Mr. Patrick Sawyer, Coordinator of the ECOWAS National Unit at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, having contracted the virus, the Ministry wishes to announce the following measures to ensure public safety and instil confidence in users of services at the Ministry.

At the very highest level of the Ministry, all senior officials coming in direct or indirect contact with Mr. Sawyer have been placed on the prescribed 21 days observatory surveillance period starting July 20th, the day Mr. Sawyer departed the country for Nigeria.

All concerned senior officials have been requested to telecommute up until when certified by the Ministry of Health to return to active duty.

Further to this measure, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Amara Konneh has requested the Ministry of Health to immediately quarantine and properly sanitize both the former Ministry of Finance and the former Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs buildings including the newly constructed National Authorizing Office of the European Union.

Due to these measures, the Ministry will be temporarily shut down 12: 00 PM on Monday, July 28, 2014 and reopened on Tuesday, July 29th, 2014.

All employees, who made no contact but have been traumatized as a result of the situation in the last few days and would like to take some time off, are free to stay home until when is necessary to return to duty. However, all essential employees still working at the Ministry are asked to observe the following measures strictly:

• Use of the elevator is restricted to only 4 persons per trip;
• Absolutely, no clustering on the stairways;
• No gathering of more than five persons except for meetings in conference spaces or spatial environment;
• Absolutely no handshakes, hugging of other physical bodily contact;
• Please report any suspicious illness or strange conditions amongst employees;
• Only persons with genuine business dealings and transactions would be permitted on the premises;
• All employees are further encouraged to wear long sleeve clothing to minimize any possible risk of exposure;

In addition to these measures, the Ministry has put in place a thorough sanitary program and admonishes all staff to use the hand washer or personalized sanitizers or disposable gloves available at the Ministry’s entrance.

And the word is… Panic.