Update, one which many will say has been long overdue: Liberia Shuts Border Crossings to Slow Ebola Spread. From Bloomberg:
- Liberia Shuts Border Crossings to Slow Ebola Spread: Allafrica
- Only major border crossings at Roberts International Airport, James Spriggs Payne Airport, Foya Crossing, Bo Waterside Crossing, Ganta Crossing to remain open, AllAfrica.com says, citing Liberian govt statement.
- At those entry points, testing centers to be set up; “stringent” preventive measures to be announced
- New travel policy by Liberia Airport Authority on inspection, testing of all passengers to be strictly observed
- There will be restrictions on public gatherings incl. solidarity marches, demonstrations
- Hotels, restaurants, entertainment centers, video clubs to play 5-min. film on Ebola awareness, prevention
- Govt vehicles to be commandeered, as needed, to support health delivery system
- All govt facilities, public places to install/provide public access for hand-washing
* * *
It was a few short hours ago [2]when we reported that as part of the escalating Ebola epidemic in West Africa a US doctor, Kent Brantly had himself succumbed to the deadly virus. Moments ago we found out that a second US doctor from the same aid organization in Liberia, Nancy Writebol, has been infected with Ebola.
Writebol in a June 2011 photo from the Rafiki missionary foundation [3] [3]
From CBS [4]:
Two U.S. citizens are now reported to be infected with the deadly and incurable Ebola virus in West Africa.
The first American reported to have contracted the disease is an American doctor working with Ebola patients in Liberia, who tested positive for the deadly virus, North Carolina-based Samaritan's Purse issued said in a news release on Saturday.
The second person who reportedly tested positive for Ebola is a woman employed by an aid organization in Liberia who is a married mother of two.
In a statement on Sunday, Samaritan's Purse said: "Nancy Writebol is employed by SIM in Liberia and was helping the joint Samaritan's Purse/SIM team that is treating Ebola patients at the Case Management Center in Monrovia."
Writebol's age and hometown have not been released at this time.
What is most disturbing is that the two physicians have contracted the lethal disease despite apparently taking much needed precations to avoid infection as the following photos below demonstrate.
Dr. Kent Brantly assists two ELWA Hospital staff in transporting an Ebola patient from the triage unit to the isolation unit in the rain on Tuesday July 22, 2014, in Liberia.
Dr. Kent Brantly (right) collects a blood sample from a suspected Ebola patient in the ELWA isolation ward in Liberia
