GENEVA, Switzerland - Nigeria became the latest country to declare a national emergency over the deadly Ebola virus on Friday, as the World Health Organisation called the epidemic that has claimed nearly 1,000 lives a global health crisis.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the immediate release of 1.9 billion naira ($11.7 million, 8.7 million euros) to fund the fight against the disease as Africa's most populous nation confirmed two more Ebola cases, bringing the total number of infections to nine -- including two deaths.
The WHO appealed for international aid to help afflicted countries after a rare meeting of the UN health body's emergency committee, which urged screening of all people flying out of affected countries in west Africa.
It stopped short of calling for global travel restrictions, urging airlines to take strict precautions but to continue flying to the west African countries hit by the outbreak.
And it called on countries around the globe to be prepared to "detect, investigate and manage" Ebola cases if they should arise.
Following the WHO declaration of the current Ebola outbreak as an international public health emergency, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan spoke about government initiatives to deal with the crisis and spread awareness in India. He said that the government is maintaining intensive surveillance to prevent the spread of the dreaded Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the country. He said there is no confirmed or even suspected Ebola virus-affected person in the country as of now.
Meanwhile, a control room with helpline numbers 23063205, 23061469 and 23061302 became operational from Saturday morning. A total of 30 calls were received during the day. The minister expressed satisfaction with the reaction of the general public to the awareness campaign launched by the government. ”Most of the callers to the helpline reflected a mature understanding of the collective responsibility in times like this. They wanted to know details about the symptoms and the preventive measures,” Harsh Vardhan said.
Meanwhile, a control room with helpline numbers 23063205, 23061469 and 23061302 became operational from Saturday morning. A total of 30 calls were received during the day. The minister expressed satisfaction with the reaction of the general public to the awareness campaign launched by the government. ”Most of the callers to the helpline reflected a mature understanding of the collective responsibility in times like this. They wanted to know details about the symptoms and the preventive measures,” Harsh Vardhan said.
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