The
Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Morris Dukuly, has disclosed that a
Liberian has died of the deadly Ebola virus in Morocco.
The Ebola
virus, which has no cure, has killed at least 129 people here, and
claimed more than 670 lives across the region. A top Liberian doctor
working at Liberia's largest hospital died recently, and two American
aid workers have fallen ill, underscoring the dangers facing those
charged with bringing the outbreak under control.
Also recently, an official of the Ministry of Finance identified as Patrick Sawyer died of the disease at a Lagos hospital.
As
a means of containing further spread of the disease, President
Johnson-Sirleaf set up a taskforce to help in the fight of the disease
and ordered the closure of the country's three land borders.
The
Liberian leader also ordered that public gatherings be restricted and
communities heavily affected by the Ebola outbreak be quarantined.
Making
the disclosure at a news conference held at the Ministry on Wednesday,
July 30, 2014, Minister Dukuly, who is also the Vice Chairman on the
National Ebola Taskforce, further disclosed that the deceased left the
country two days before his death.
Although Minister Dukuly did
not disclose the name of the Liberian, who he said died of Ebola in
Morocco, he averred that this means that there are many more people who
are carrying the disease unknowingly.
Against this backdrop, the
Internal Affairs Ministry boss called on traditional chiefs to help
inform their local people on the threat of the deadly disease.
"You,
traditional chiefs, are the owners of the land, and the land is under
threat that I have not seen in my life before," said Minister Dukuly.
"Tell
your people to stop running behind health workers. This may cause them
to leave. For instance, Samaritan Purse, one of the partners, wanted to
leave Lofa County due to threats they received from local people," he
warned.
While urging the chiefs to adequately inform their
people, he reminded them that Ebola is real and does not have to claim
more lives before people get to believe it.
"We have a common
challenge, which seems to be growing. This challenge is Ebola, and we
need to fight it. Since the disease was discovered in March of this
year," he noted.
He then lauded the Country Director of the World
Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Nestor Ndayimirije for his care shown
since the outbreak of the disease in March.
According to him, WHO
through Dr. Ndayimirije has provided technical and other supports
towards the fight of the disease in the country.
Speaking
briefly, WHO Country boss, Dr. Ndayimirije said the disease can be
prevented if people observe the necessary precautionary measures.
He disclosed that Ebola has killed 166 people since its outbreak.
Of this number, he said, over 20 health workers have died, while over 45 more are being affected by the disease.
Dr. Ndayimirije also disclosed that a total of 329 cases have been reported since the outbreak of the disease.
"You
are the local leaders, tell your people to please support health
workers and not to chase them. Samaritan Purse on yesterday said it will
not continue because its workers were attacked and chased in Lofa with
one of their staff wounded in the process in Foya. Please tell them to
stop playing with dead bodies," he warned.
For his part, the
Chairman of the National Traditional Council of Liberia (NTCL), Chief
Zanzar Karwor, accepted the request from government and its partners to
help in the campaign.
However, he urged that the government shows videos of patients and people who have died from the virus.
