Cape Verde tightens airport checks against Ebola
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on A Nação
Cape Verde activated its national Ebola contingency plan and strengthened surveillance at its four international airports, with health questionnaires, temperature checks and protective equipment. Authorities also plan mandatory negative tests for travellers, according to A Nação and the National Directorate of Health.
Cape Verde’s health authorities have activated the national contingency plan against Ebola and strengthened surveillance at the country’s four international airports, in Praia, São Vicente, Sal and Boa Vista, after the World Health Organization confirmed a first case in Nigeria, reports A Nação.
Passengers must now complete a questionnaire on their travel history and epidemiological data. Front-line medical teams have personal protective equipment and use thermal devices to automatically detect travellers’ temperatures on arrival. The authorities also plan to require negative Ebola tests for people entering or leaving Cape Verde, carried out by the National Institute of Public Health, with the introduction of rapid tests and the extension of the service to health centres also announced.
Five members of the Cape Verdean Boxing Federation who arrived on Sunday on a flight from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were screened at the airport. All were asymptomatic, but were placed under home monitoring for up to 21 days; three are isolated in Praia and one in São Vicente. Cape Verde has recorded no Ebola cases so far, while samples requiring confirmation are sent to Dakar as part of cooperation with the Cape Verdean public health institute.
