Ebola contact tracers warned

The deputy head for the Government Incident Management System, Dr. Francis Kateh, has warned Ebola contact tracers to remain where they are being quarantined, and stop moving from place to place, which could spread the infection rate.

Dr. Kateh narrated that there was a recent case from the St. Paul Bridge community on Bushrod Island and the infected person hid his identity and went from place to place, which has led a total of 107 persons being contacted from December 29, 2014 to February 13, 2015.

He said such habit initially led to five deaths followed by 10 persons for the second time, and then three persons the third time.

He cautioned contact tracers to remain where they have been quarantined, saying, “Food and medications will be provided.”

At the same time, the Youth Advisor to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Dr. Emmanuel Dolo, who just returned from the Mano River Union Summit in Guinea, said MRU countries have agreed that funeral homes should be supported or assisted, noting that during peak of the Ebola outbreak, funeral homes in the affected countries suffered business lost because of cremation of Ebola bodies.

He said MRU Heads of State and Governments also saw the need to provide mental support for healthcare workers, safe burial teams, contact tracers and even Ebola survivors, who are being stigmatized in communities.

Dr. Dolo said delegates at the summit also agreed to strengthen cross border coordination, recalling that a particular case came from neighboring Guinea across the border into Nimba County, Liberia, which led to several contacts being traced.

The Youth Advisor said fishermen in the MRU basin have also been warned because they travel from country to country by water and are capable of transporting the virus.

By Ethel A. Tweh