By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Crisis alert level 2 (Restriction Phase) has been raised in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone due to the Ebola virus outbreak in Western Africa.
Filipinos in these countries are instructed to restrict non-essential movements, avoid public places and take extra precautions, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Furthermore, only returning overseas Filipino workers with existing employment contracts will be allowed to go back to the host country.
There are an estimated 880 Filipinos in Guinea, 632 in Liberia, including the148 United Nations Filipino peacekeepers, and 1,979 in Sierra Leone, according to DFA.
It urged Filipinos in those countries to follow the advice of local health authorities and if they are medical health workers, they should strictly follow the safety protocols of their respective hospitals.
For Filipinos who want to be repatriated, they can ask for assistance from the Philippine embassies in their respective host countries.
“We will do everything possible to help them come back,” DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said.
In its latest report on the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak of Ebola virus is scything through West Africa with the number of deaths rising sharply over the past week to 467 people.
In addition to the confirmed deaths in the countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, WHO announced that the number of confirmed or suspected cases of the virus has risen to 759.
Ebola virus has a mortality rate of up to 90 percent.
“As of June 30, the cumulative number of cases in the three countries stands at 759, including 467 deaths,” WHO said.
The new update shows a 38-percent increase in the number of deaths and a 27-percent rise in the number of suspected cases since WHO update last Tuesday, making it West Africa’s deadliest Ebola epidemic on record.
Last week, the death toll from Ebola stood at 399 as of June out of 635 cases.
With a population of just over 10 million, Guinea is suffering the worst from the outbreak with 413 cases and 303 deaths.
Neighboring Liberia witnessed 65 deaths among 107 registered cases, while Sierra Leone is treating 239 patients, 99 of whom have died.
According to the WHO fact-sheet, the virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission, with fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family considered to be the natural hosts of the Ebola virus.
No vaccine is available for use in people or animals. Although several vaccines are being tested, none are available for clinical use./PN
