COVID-19 IN NIGERIA: WE SAY NO TO CHINA INTERVENTION

Can the world ever trust China again? Would Nigeria romance with the prime suspect of the current global crisis (COVID-19)? How can we? In 2012 China handed over a fully funded and built headquarters building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the African Union (AU). A great gesture of friendship and solidarity, perhaps. But not long after, it was alleged to have been bugged, leaking vital, confidential information of the Union to China in faraway Shanghai! True or false, the Union had to change its computer servers to check the alleged mischief. But issues of health are different. Misfiring means losing a life, or even lives. On a national scale, that can amount to thousands. Painful loss. Avoidable loss. The authorities must tread with caution here. Face masks, test kits, ventilators, vaccine and doctors - all from or of China. Hmmmm, caution we must exercise. Until now we have been using our indigenous doctors, and they have been doing well. WHY CHANGE THE WINNING TEAM? Please let us DISCARD this idea of Chinese intervention. WE DON'T NEED IT. Let us stay safe Stay indigenous. Stay Nigerian We shall overcome

Saturday, 30 August 2014

Another Country is Hit with the Ebola Virus as Senegal records first Ebola Case.


Ebola Outbreak: Senegal Confirms First Case

Senegal's health ministry has confirmed a first case of Ebola, making it the fifth West African country to be affected by the outbreak.
Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck told reporters on Friday that a young man from Guinea was confirmed to have contracted the virus.
The man was immediately placed in quarantine, she added.
The current outbreak, which began in Guinea, has killed more than 1,500 people across the region.

At least 3,000 people have been infected with the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned it could get much worse and infect more than 20,000 people.

Guinea riot
Senegal had previously closed its border with Guinea in an attempt to halt the spread of Ebola, but its frontiers are porous.

It had also banned flights and ships from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - the three worst-hit countries.

But the Guinean health services reported on Wednesday "the disappearance of a person infected with Ebola who reportedly travelled to Senegal," according to Senegal's health minister.

A young Guinean student later turned up at a hospital in the capital, Dakar, said Ms Seck, but he did not reveal that he had had contact with Ebola patients in his own country.

Senegal, a major transit hub for aid agencies, has a large Guinean population.

Separately on Friday, residents of Guinea's second largest city, Nzerekore, rioted after its main market was sprayed with disinfectant in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

The exact cause of the riot is not clear - some people reportedly feared the spray would spread Ebola. Police responded by firing tear gas.

A 24-hour curfew is currently in place in the city, which is the capital of the Forest Region, where the Ebola epidemic has its epicentre.

However the BBC's Alhassan Sillah in Guinea says the town has miraculously remained free of Ebola so far.

There have been relatively few cases in Guinea recently, with far higher infection rates in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and six deaths in Nigeria.

On Thursday, the WHO unveiled a plan aimed at stopping transmission of the virus in the next six to nine months.

Among its recommendations, it said countries affected should conduct exit screening to prevent the disease from spreading to a further 10 countries.

The plan calls for $489m (£295m) to be spent over the next nine months and requires 750 international workers and 12,000 national workers across West Africa.

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