Ebola scare: Govt orders 10,000 protective gear for health workers
About 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been ordered by the government for frontline health workers who will be handling Ebola cases in the event of an outbreak of the disease.
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The Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane-Boamah, who made this known in Accra on Monday, said securing the equipment was part of the major steps that the government had taken to prevent or deal with possible Ebola virus outbreak in the country.
At a meeting with representatives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) and the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), he said additionally, a number of PPE had already been supplied by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help contain the disease that had claimed over 1,000 lives in four West African countries.
The meeting was called to brief the three associations on the work done by the inter-ministerial team set up by the government to deal with the Ebola pandemic.
The meeting was also intended to solicit the support of media practitioners to further sensitise the general public to the disease.
Other interventions
Dr Omane-Boamah said other interventions included the procurement of more thermometers and construction of three treatment centres.
“Our first goal is to prevent the disease and in the worst case scenario, how to respond to it,” he added.
He said a meeting with the various universities had been scheduled for today to assess their preparedness before they would reopen.
A simulation exercise is also due to be held within two weeks to test the country’s preparedness in the event of an outbreak of Ebola.
Dr Omane-Boamah explained that the postponement of the reopening of the universities was very important, because about 6,000 foreign students from about 100 countries were schooling in Ghana, a number of them from countries which have reported Ebola cases.
Entry points
The Communications Minister said a team, made up of personnel from the Ministry of Defence, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), had been put together to conduct specific surveillance on both approved and unapproved routes to the country.
He also said through the contact forms filled by international travellers, about 20 people who were in close proximity or had some contact with the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, who travelled to Nigeria with the Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) through Ghana, had been identified and screened.
Dr Omane-Boamah informed the meeting that the government was working on a policy to insure any health worker likely to be infected by the EVD in the course of duty.
Public education
To assist in sensitising the general public, the minister said, messages had been developed for radio. These were already being played on radio stations for free. He also said a video clip was almost ready for television.
He lauded the Daily Graphic and other print media houses for their efforts to sensitise the public to Ebola.
The Executive Secretary of PRINPAG, Nii Laryea Sowah, asked the government to include advertisers’ announcement in the print media in its sensitisation interventions.
The GJA President, Dr Affail Monney, recommended that the media should be given access to credible sources to enable them to broadcast credible information.
An Executive Council Member of GIBA, Mr Stephen Ato Ashen, asked for the streamlining of objective information from one source on the EVD at all times.
In his response, Dr Omane-Boamah said there would be an official feed or source of information, should there be any outbreak.
“If it is confirmed, we would be the first to put it out there for everyone to be on a high alert. Government has no interest to cover up any Ebola infection,” he stressed.
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