No ebola travel ban: Parirenyatwa

10 Sep, 2014 - 16:09 0 Views
No ebola travel ban: Parirenyatwa

The Sunday Mail

Zimbabwe will not ban West African citizens from visiting following the Ebola outbreak in that part of the continent, but will intensify screening at its ports of entry.

Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa told the National Assembly on Wednesday that the decision conformed to an African Union resolution not to discriminate against affected countries.

Minister Parirenyatwa said Southern African was not at risk, though cases of the disease have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We have agreed not to effect a ban on travel because (by banning them) we will be stigmatising our colleagues. A ban would also strangle the economies of the affected countries. What we have done is to screen visitors from that region at all ports of entry and exit.

“We will follow up on visitors for at least 21 days and we are religiously doing that. As a region, we are ready to deal with the problem in the event of an outbreak. There is no threat of the virus in the region. We only have a problem in (the) eastern (part of the) Democratic Republic of Congo.”

Ebola has reportedly killed over 1 500 people, with Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone the hardest hit.

Last week, Liberia closed most of its borders while the few entry points still open have Ebola testing centres and will implement other preventive measures.

South Africa also banned travellers from Ebola-stricken countries from entering its borders, and Senegal announced it was closing its border with Guinea.

Chad also closed its border with Nigeria.

Air Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria’s Arik Air, Togo’s ASKY Airlines, British Airways, Emirates Airlines and Kenya Airways cancelled a combined 76 scheduled flights to Guinea, 70 to Liberia and 70 to Sierra Leone.

Kenya Airways also froze routes to Liberia and Sierra Leone after its Health Ministry recommended a temporary ban, describing the Ebola outbreak “vastly underestimated” and saying it was “expected to continue for some time”.

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