Health-Ebola-Case Gbarpolu Records 1st Suspected Ebola Case, Gets Citizens’ Donation By Emmanuel Mondaye, LINA Gbarpolu County Correspondent BOPOLU, August 24 (LINA) - There is a probable Ebola case in Gbarpolu County involving a female, County Health Officer (CHO), Dr. Anthony Tucker, has confirmed. He told the Liberia News Agency Sunday that the female suspected of the Ebola disease fled a holding center in Monrovia after her husband died of the virus. He disclosed that the woman, who is currently in Kparwolozu in Belle District, has shown probable signs and symptoms of Ebola. Tucker emphasized that fighting Ebola in Gbarpolu would be an expensive and difficult venture that requires the needed support to overcome the disease. He then expressed gratitude to the people of the county for their cooperation which continues to stimulate the awareness process about the Ebola virus. Meanwhile, the Gbarpolu County Ebola Response Initiative (GCERI) over the weekend donated assorted medical supplies to the County Ebola Task Force to fight the disease. The items include 100 plastic buckets, 12 cartoons of Clorox, two cartoons of powder soap, 20 reams of paper, US$90 worth of gasoline, and a banner with the inscription, ‘Gbarpolu Citizens Ebola Response Initiative”, according to the Liberia News Agency. Presenting the items to the Task Force, the Chairman of the organization, Edrick F. Noah, said the donation represents the initial contribution to fight the deadly Ebola virus from the county. LINA EDM/JGT/PTK Health-Ebola-Beds Senator Sees Better Ebola Response With More Beds At JFK, ELWA By: Winnie Dixon MONROVIA, August 24 (LINA) - Senate Health Committee Chairman, Dr. Peter Coleman, has said there would be improvement in the level of Ebola response with the completion of additional bed space at both JFK and ELWA hospitals. Senator Coleman made the disclosure recently while addressing the plenary on reasons why the Ebola response centers have not been able to cater for large numbers of infected persons. Coleman, a medical doctor, noted that each of the two facilities would be able to serve over 100 new patients, and together, they would serve over 250 persons who urgently need attention. The Grand Kru Senator said that the absence of a treatment center was a fundamental reason why there was limited response by health teams when called to assist persons needing help. Meanwhile, Senators Thomas Grupee of Nimba County and George Tengbeh of Lofa County have called for attention to be given their counties in the next stage of the response. Grupee said Nimba need more attention due to its high population and large number of health facilities. He said with 64 health facilities in the county, there is a need for each of these facilities to be ready for the possibility of dealing with cases that may arise. For his part, Tengbeh called for more sensitization in rural areas in order to reduce the number of new cases, particularly since these areas are far from the treatment facilities being built. LINA WTD/JGT/PTK Economy-Profiteers Gbarpolu Price Inspector Warns Profiteers By: Emmanuel Mondaye, LINA Gbarpolu County Correspondent BOPOLU, August 24 (LINA) - Gbarpolu County Commerce Inspector, Aaron F. Mulbah, has warned businesses in the county against arbitrary price hiking in the face of the Ebola pandemic. Mulbah told the Liberia News Agency (LINA) recently that during an inspection tour in the county he observed that some businesses were hiking the prices of basic commodities in violation of the business law of Liberia. Although Mulbah did not identify the businesses involved, he vowed to shutdown any business caught hiking prices and turn it over to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution. In another development, Gbarpolu County Superintendent, Allen Gbowee, has ordered security forces in the county not to permit any commercial vehicle to leave the county. Gbowee said his directive comes in the wake of flagrant disrespect to his office by the Federation of Road Transport Union of Liberia (FRTUL) which refused to honor a meeting with county authorities over transport fares. The Gbarpolu Superintendent also said that his mandate will remain in force until the leadership of the FRTUL complies with his directive. He since the government imposed the curfew some commercial drivers in the county were overcharging passengers when the government has not increased the transport fares in rural Liberia. LINA EDM/JGT/PTK Health-Ebola-Finance Gov’t Approves 100k For Bassa Ebola Fight Johnson Liway, LINA Grand Bassa County Correspondent BUCHANAN, August 24 (LINA) - Government has approved US$100,000 for Grand Bassa County from its Social Development Fund to fight the spread of Ebola in the county. Disclosing this to the Liberia News Agency in a brief mobile phone interview Friday, the Assistant Superintendent for Development, Adoni Z. Greaves, said the amount is for a period of one month. Even though Greaves could not readily comment on how the money will be expended, the Chairman of the Grand Bassa Legislative Caucus, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, gave a part breakdown on how it will be disbursed on a social network Friday. She said that two pickup trucks and seven motorbikes will be purchased for use by the Ebola Task Force of Grand Bassa County. She added that six quarantine centers will be built, furnished and electrified, while funding will be provided for one month of feeding at the centers. She further said that US$5,000 will be disbursed to each of the five electoral districts for awareness campaign as well as purchasing of fuel oil, gas and chlorine. Lawrence also disclosed that an amount of US$1,000 will be given to each of the six radio stations operating in the county for to disseminate awareness messages on the Ebola virus. She said the city government will also be compensated for cleaning the City of Buchanan. LINA JBL/JGT/PTK Health-Ebola-Senate Senate Chaplain Urges Upper House To Seek God’s Mercy By: Winnie Dixon MONROVIA, August 24 (LINA) - The Chaplain of the Liberian Senate, Rev. Michael Holder, has called on the Upper House to “seek God’s mercy” in order to obtain Divine intervention in ending the Ebola outbreak. Rev. Holder urged the senators to use this time to examine their lives and identify ways in which they can form part of God’s purpose for Liberia, claiming that “the enemies are trying to steal our joy and divide us as Liberians.” Speaking in his regular exhortation to the plenary of the Liberian Senate on Thursday, the prelate stated that God’s ability extends beyond the power and comprehension of man, and that His mercy is what every human relies on for successful living. He added that it is only the Almighty God who has the power to bring the spread of the deadly Ebola virus to an end and cleanse the land from any other disease that might erupt. He wondered if anybody can imagine how the world would be if no one recognized God and everyone decided on their own the outcome of the lives of others. The prelate pointed out that if the leaders of the nation do not obtain God’s mercy, Liberia will be constrained to respond to the emergency with only human efforts and limitations. LINA WTD/JGT/PTK Health-Ebola-Centers Liberian Engineer Calls For Additional Treatment Centers By: Robert Dixon MONROVIA, August 24 (LINA) - Liberian engineer James Davies has appealed to the government to establish additional Ebola Treatment Centers in all districts in the affected counties. He also admonished government to focus on salaries for the Civil Service, including health workers, and the purchase of medical equipment and supplies for treatment centers for the next two months. Davies told the Liberia News Agency at his Gardnersville office recently that such actions will go a long way in curbing the rapid spread of the disease to other parts of the country not affected by the virus. He further said that every affected electoral district should have its own ambulance, medical team or quick response unit and hotline center. Davies, who works at a local construction firm, said that the Ebola disease does not discriminate and “as such, it is incumbent on each and every Liberian irrespective of their status to join government and its partners to fight against the spread of the deadly virus.” He then thanked the government and its partners for their timely and immense intervention to curb the spread of the virus and eliminate it from the country. LINA RD/JGT/PTK Politics-Ebola CDC Seeks Audience With Gov’t On Ebola By: Richard Stephens MONROVIA, August 24 (LINA) -The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) is seeking audience with the government to discuss strategies to jointly fight the Ebola virus. Addressing a press conference in Monrovia, CDC Secretary-General Nathaniel McGill said the CDC is concerned about the fight against the virus and therefore will support every initiative by the government that will not interfere with the citizens’ rights. He lauded the Liberian government for the efforts it is exerting in the fight against the virus since its outbreak in the country more than five months ago. However, McGill said in order for the fight against Ebola to achieve its desired goals, the president should include civil society bodies as well as medical-related institutions, like the Red Cross, on the National Ebola Task Force. He pointed out that the outbreak of Ebola is detrimental to the country because it has the possibility to paralyze the nation’s economy and several other programs. LINA RS/JGT/TSS/PTK Health- Ebola-Leaders Bassa Supt. Urges Leaders To Report Suspected Ebola Cases Johnson Liway, LINA Grand Bassa County Correspondent BUCHANAN, August 24 (LINA) - Grand Bassa Superintendent Etweeda Cooper has called on zone and community leaders in Buchanan to report to health authorities sick persons in their communities for check-up at health centers. She observed that although not every sick person with diarrhea and fever is an Ebola patient, it is safer for them to be thoroughly checked in order to be sure of their cases. According to the Liberia News Agency, Superintendent Cooper made the call when she met with zone and community leaders at her office in Buchanan recently. She pointed out that people are fleeing from Monrovia and other parts of Liberia to their relatives in Buchanan, adding that everyone needs to be checked to save the lives of residents. Madam Cooper told the leaders that she cannot withstand citizens dying in the county from Ebola, adding that “every single case is one case too many.” “I don’t want to see bodies lying in the streets of Buchanan. I don’t want to see bodies in your zones, so you zone leaders have to work overtime to save Buchanan and this is my order,” Supt. Cooper stressed. She said the Ebola virus is more active when victims are about to die and when they are dead, because it has to find its way into a living being, noting that the virus is weak but, only if citizens follow the rules outlined by health authorities to conquer it. “There is a quarantine site in Buchanan, and plans are underway to set up more centers in the districts and funding will be sought to feed those that will enter the quarantine sites,” she said. Cooper explained that “under the State of Emergency, some of our rights are limited, our movements are limited and we do not want Bassa to be quarantined as has been done in some parts of Liberia.” She added: “So we are setting up checkpoints in other parts of Bassa, including the Rivercess border and St. John River Bridge.” She then urged the leaders to work harder to prevent the spread of the deadly disease that has already claimed the lives of hundreds of Liberians. LINA JBL/TSS/PTK Health-Ebola-Donation Businessman Donates To Police, Hospital In Gbarpolu Ebola Fight By: Emmanuel Mondaye, LINA Gbarpolu County Correspondent BOPOLU, August 24 (LINA) - A Liberian businessman has donated a 3.5kva generator and a set of video player to the Gbarpolu County Joint Security and the Chief Jallah Lone Medical Center to fight Ebola. Ben Morris, owner of the Point Gold Mining Field in Bopolu District, Gbarpolu County, said the generator is for use by the Joint Security at the Gbarpolu checkpoint, while the set of video will be used by the Chief Jallah Lone Medical Center. He also provided gasoline, light bulbs, electric wires and sockets for the generator, according to the Liberia News Agency. Presenting the generator to the Gbarpolu Police Commander, Adolphus Cole, at the police headquarters recently, Morris hoped it will help electrify the Bomi, Gbarma and Bopolu checkpoints. He told the Gbarpolu County Health Officer, Dr. Anthony Tucker, the video should be used to share information to health practitioners and ordinary residents of the county about the Ebola virus. Receiving the items both Commander Cole and Dr. Tucker expressed gratitude to Morris for his gesture and called on others to emulate the example of the businessman. LINA EDM/JGT/PTK Health-Ebola-Training Group Trains 247 Ebola Awareness Volunteers By: D. Ignatius Roberts, LINA Grand Cape Mount County Correspondent ROBERTSPORT, August 24 (LINA) - Medical Teams International (MTI), a partner to Grand Cape Mount County Health Team (CHT), has trained 247 General Community Health Volunteers (GCHVS) to strengthen efforts by the CHT in spreading Ebola prevention messages. This was disclosed by MIT Health Manager George Kaine in an interview with the Liberia News Agency recently in Sinje Town, Garwula District. Kaine said the training was intended to beef up the manpower in the health sector in the county for sufficient information to reach rural dwellers on the prevention of Ebola. He said the training has empowered the participants to adequately perform their duties with passion and commitment to the interest t of the rural people. Kaine has appealed to the citizens of the county to cooperate with the trainees so that together they can kick Ebola out of Cape Mount and Liberia. LINA DIR/JGT/PTK
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:31:13 +0000
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