statcounter

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Liberia: 4 West Point 'Looters' Tested Positive of Ebola

27 August 2014


The Minister of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), Lewis G. Brown, has disclosed that four of the protesters, who recently broke into and ransacked the Ebola Quarantine Center in the West Point Township, have been tested positive of the Ebola virus.
The protesters, who said there was no Ebola in Liberia, stormed and ransacked the Ebola Quarantine Center and made away with bloodstained mattresses and bed sheets after chasing away patients who were quarantined there.
Minister Brown, who did not give the identities of the protesters that he said got tested positive of Ebola, made the disclosure on Monday, 25 August when he spoke to UNMIL Radio.
Commenting on the government's efforts to sensitize residents about the Ebola disease, the MICAT boss said community residents are now actively involved in the dissemination of Ebola messages.
According to him, the government has conducted awareness workshops in various communities to determine the response of citizens, indicating that the people are now better situated in the fight against the spread of the virus.
He added that the government has set up a team to conduct investigation into the skirmishes in West Point after the area was placed in quarantine last week that led to the death of one person and wounding of several others."
In a related development, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Monday, August 25paid a visit to quarantined West Point community to further explain to the people the intent of the measures placed on their community.
In West Point, the Liberian President informed the residents that the measures placed on them were temporary and is only meant to stop the spread of the Ebola virus disease.
The President told the West Pointers that the government and its partners have arranged food supply and challenged the residents to remain calm as food and water distribution has already started.
President Sirleaf, as part of several measures already taken to stop transmission, last Tuesday, August 19, quarantined West Point and Dolo Town communities in Monrovia and lower Margibi County due to an outbreak in those communities. http://allafrica.com/stories/201408271539.html