Ethiopia, whose national airlines has daily flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where Ebola outbreak has killed many people, says it is taking preventive measures to avoid the spread of the deadly virus into the country.
Tightened measures are in place to prevent the Ebola virus that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr Amir Aman. Since Ethiopian Airlines flies to Congolese city of Goma seven days a week, preventive measures have been launched at four Ethiopian international airports and 33 border check points, according to the state news agency ENA report.
Dr Amir indicated. Necessary prevention measures are being made particularly at Somaliland, Sudan and South Sudan border checkpoints, the Minister noted. The government has put aside 250 million birr for prevention measures, according to Dr Amir. Ebola epidemic in DR Congo has killed over 1,600 people and more than 11,000 people in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.
Ethiopia had previously deployed 200 health professionals to help Ebola response in West Africa and this would give the country a good experience to prevent the epidemic, Dr. Amir said. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola crisis in the DR Congo a public health emergency of international concern.