Bishop Kortu Brown, President of the Liberia Council of Churches frowns here on public stigmatization of the two individuals who tested positive of the coronavirus few days ago.
Bishop Brown warns that stigmatization will not help in the fight against the deadly coronavirus but scare people away, who might fall ill, but wouldn’t avail themselves to health authorities for test and possible treatment.
He calls on churches to adhere to all health protocols, including foreign nationals coming in to the country.
The Government of Liberia has banned travels from countries that have recorded 200 cases of the virus, among other regulations.
The LCC president says the deadly coronavirus could be eradicated from Liberia soon, if concerted efforts were realized through contributions of all – health workers, citizens and the government.
He reminds Christians to continue washing their hands with soap and chlorinated water, clean their environment, use sanitizers, and avoid crowded areas or observe social distancing.
Liberia has confirmed two coronavirus cases after the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Nathaniel Blama, tested positive this week.
The government on Wednesday announced that after health authorities conducted tests on five primary contacts from the first case, four have tested negative.
Information Minister Eugene Nagbe says the contacts include the driver of the suspended EPA boss, Nathaniel Blama, and another person who is said to have accompanied Blama to Switzerland.
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According to the National Public Health Institute of Liberia,on March 9, 2020, case [Blama] travelled to Switzerland on official duty. He returned to Liberia on 13th March 2020 via SN Brussels airlines flight 241 at about 6p.m.
Onset of symptoms (fever and unproductive cough) was 14th March and sought over-the-counter medication on 15th March from Lucky Pharmacy, 23rd Street, Sinkor, Monrovia.
The case-patient self- reported to the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) on the 15th March at about 10:43a.m. Sample was collected and tested at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory. The positive test result was received at 3am on 16th March.
Meanwhile, the NPHIL reports that as of March 18, 2020, no new confirmed case has been reported and that both Blama and his domestic worker are alive, clinically stable and in isolation. Editing by Jonathan Browne
