Senate cites MOH, Incident Management Team
The Liberian Senate has ordered the Minister of Health and the Incident Management Team to appear before its full plenary on Tuesday 22 June to tell the Senate what is the emergency response plan of the Ministry as it relates to the fight against Covid -19.
Making the motion Thursday, 17 June, Grand Bassa County Senator Johnathan L. Kaipay said the Minister of Health and the Incident Management Team needed to come before the Senate to state the measure they’re putting in place to curtail the rapid spread of Covid -19. He stressed that Liberia needs a tester that gives the results rapidly, noting that neighboring countries can test people for Covid -19 and within three hours, the result is out to enable the person to leave or be quarantined.
But the Grand Bassa Senator observed that in Liberia, when the test is done, it takes up to three days before the results come out, adding that it’s not safe for the rest of the citizens.
According to Senator Kaipay, a person could be positive and be among other people during the three days they are waiting to be told that they are positive.”That airport needs to be carefully attended to. People are traveling in and out of the country and the test is only being done, but there is no result at the same time,” Senator Kaipay cautioned.
“Do you know how many [people] I might interact with when I leave the airport before being called to say I’m positive? Do you know how many contacts they will have to trace?” Kaipay wondered.
By Ethel A Tweh–Edited by Winston W. Parley