[www.inewsguyana.com] – Several Guyanese and other Regional Parliamentarians have refused to travel to Cameroon, located in in the west Central Africa region, amid growing fears surrounding the deadly Ebola virus.
House Speaker, Raphael Trotman told reporters today that a Guyanese Delegation ought to have been attending a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Cameroon, expected to commence on Wednesday, October 2 and runs until October 10.
“But because of obvious public health issues with Ebola, the decision was taken not to send that delegation and all members will remain in Guyana,” the Speaker stated.
He said other Caribbean Countries that form part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association have refused to send delegations to the conference too.
“Even though Cameroon is said not to be a part of Africa it is said to be close to Liberia and Sierra Leone to cause concerns,” Trotman said; adding that “it was not considered to be in the best interest to send a delegation to Cameroon.”
The Speaker explained that the concerns were not only with travelling to the region but the hassle anticipated when returning.
“Coming back persons may be taken into room and examined and probably kept for a few days.”
The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest in history and the first Ebola epidemic the world has ever known — affecting multiple countries in West Africa.
Although the risk of an Ebola outbreak in Guyana is very low, the government and partners are taking precautions to prevent this from happening.
The World Health Organization says the situation in West Africa continues to deteriorate.
The WHO said recently that there had been 597 deaths in Sierra Leone and 1,940 Ebola cases, nearly a third of the total for the three West African countries most affected; the other two are Guinea and Liberia.
Over all, the WHO reported, there have been 2,917 deaths from Ebola. At least 2,909 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 6,242 reported Ebola cases over all, according to its latest report. Nigeria and Senegal have recorded a total of eight deaths and 21 cases of infection.