Ganta to lockdown

As part of efforts in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus, Nimba County in Central Liberia is concluding plans to shut down its commercial city, Ganta, for five days to allow health workers conduct intensive testing of residents.

Nimba County health team headed by Medical Director Collins Boah, said during the five days, a robust house-to-house search will be conducted to locate people that are sick and in hiding. Dr. Boah said no one will be allowed to enter or leave Ganta during the lockdown.

Though he did not say when the lockdown will kickoff, he said people were still hiding sick relatives in various homes, and called on Nimbians to join the Ebola fight by taking infected relatives to the health centers for treatment.

Dr. Boah spoke over the weekend at program marking a fund raising dinner held at the Monrovia City Hall by the Nimba County anti Ebola resource mobilization committee. The fundraising dinner, which is headed by Liberia Football Association President, Musa Bility, and Cultural Ambassador, Juli Endee, was held on the theme, “Together we can win the fight against Ebola.”

According to Dr. Boah, about 10 patients from the county have been cured from Ebola, adding that Nimba with a huge population, the government should improve health facilities in the county by at least constructing a holding and treatment units for the citizens.

He described Ganta as the epic center in the entire county with cases there increasing. The Medical Director noted that locking Ganta down is to protect citizens from further spreading the virus.

He added that burial teams in the county are normally attacked while carrying on their duties, while landlords evict from their house staff working with the Ebola burial team.  For her part, Cultural Ambassador Juli Endee, a prominent citizen of Nimba County, appealed for the construction of Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in the county.