GOVERNMENTS in South-east Asia are increasingly on the alert as Ebola spreads beyond West Africa, though the consensus is that the region is at “low-risk” of catching the virus.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health on Sunday issued a health advisory on the Ebola situation, advising the public “not to be alarmed by reports of Ebola cases overseas” but encouraging people to postpone non-essential travel.
Local daily The Straits Times also reported the ministry as saying that hospitals will remain on the look out, and test travellers who have recently been to affected areas and are showing symptoms.
Malaysia is likewise on the alert with officers at the country’s major entry points including the Kuala Lumpur International Airport instructed on how to identify and handle passengers with symptoms, and alert the relevant authorities.
Thailand’s hotel association has urged its 800 plus members to continue post alerts on the situation and national carrier Thai Airways International yesterday said it is taking additional precautions, such as screening passengers during check-ins and before aircraft boarding, and deep cleaning the aircraft interior and 36 more touch points within the cabin, among others.
In the Philippines, people arriving from West African countries will be monitored for a month. Hong Kong also said that it would quarantine all travellers from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia who showed Ebola-like symptoms, reported The Straits Times.
The Brunei Times said the country’s health authorities have also advised citizens to avoid visiting the affected areas and take preventive measures should they travel there.
West African countries Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea form the epicentre of what has been called the deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history, having killed close to 1,000 people of the 1,700 plus cases confirmed so far. Liberia has declared a state of national emergency.
However the virus has travelled beyond the borders of these countries – Nigeria has seen five new cases and a second death. The Thai media reported yesterday that 21 tourists to Thailand are being monitored for signs of the disease.
A woman returning to Hong Kong from Kenya last week was tested negative for Ebola, while a Saudi Arabian man who had been in Sierra Leone and was suspected of Ebola died from a heart attack yesterday, though Saudi Arabian authorities did not reveal whether the man was suffering from Ebola.
The World Health Organization convened an emergency meeting of medical and health experts in Geneva yesterday to review the ongoing situation, discuss the employment of experimental medication, and determine if the Ebola outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The possibility of travel restrictions was also on the agenda.
