US Denies Ebola Tests For Nigerians
No Nigerians would be tested for Ebola virus at ports of entry into the United States of America, authorities in the country have said.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Nigerian Ambassador to the US Ade Adefuye.
According to the statement, contrary to report published by some major newspapers in the country, the U.S is not planning to screen Nigerians arriving at their airports for Ebola.
Adefuye informed that the Director of Disease Control in the US, Tom Frieden, denied any of such plans after the Nigerian Embassy contacted him.
“My attention has been drawn to a publication yesterday (October 2, 2014) in one of Nigerian major newspapers to the effect that U.S. airports plan Ebola screening of Nigerians arriving at U.S. airports.
"The Embassy contacted the U.S. authorities and hereby reports that there is no truth in this report. The United States Director of Disease Control, Mr. Tom Frieden, denied any of such plan," the statement read in part.
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It added: “Restricting travels between the U.S. and West Africa where Ebola virus is widely well-spread will likely be ineffective and will make it harder for health officials to root out the virus.”
Adefuye stated that stopping the outbreak at the source in Africa is the only way to eliminate the risk of the deadly disease.
The ambassador therefore appeals to Nigerians not to be worried of being subjected to any extra check at U.S. ports of entry, saying all the Nigerians with qualified U.S. immigration papers are welcome to the country.
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Since a patient at a hospital in Dallas, Texas was found positive of the Ebola virus on Wednesday, many people have been calling for more tests to be carried out on people flying into the US from Africa.
Nearly 3,5oo people have died from the Ebola virus in West African nations of Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation, WHO.
Source: Legit.ng
