Lanseria Airport prepared in case Ebola strikes
Lanseria and OR Thambo Airports were identified as areas were prevention efforts had to be put in place.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced recently that Cabinet had approved a budget of R32,5 million to support Ebola preparedness. Lanseria Airport had been identified as a mayor airport for prevention efforts.
“It’s not that we are just starting now. We are ramping up efforts to fight the virus that started in December,” he said. “We still have no Ebola in South Africa.”
Officials at Lanseria and OR Thambo airports were given a 24-hour-a-day number of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases to contact should they suspect a possible case of Ebola.
Officials at ports of entry also had been trained to deal with the disease.
Motsoaledi said the reason tests were being done on people entering South Africa was to “settle the nerves” of the media who caused a frenzy.
“I hope we did settle those nerves,” he said.
“It is not acceptable to have a media frenzy whenever we have someone with a fever and who bleeds. Bleeding is part and parcel of what the medical personnel see every day,” he added.
Motsoaledi said he realised that unnecessary panic could be caused if people did not have the right information.
According to the latest toll from the World Health Organisation, no cases of Ebola have been reported in SA but the deadly virus has killed 3 439 people in West Africa since the start of the year.
