(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon is imposing new measures to prevent the Ebola virus from reaching the Middle Eastern nation, the health minister said Monday.
Due to the large number of Lebanese expatriates in “infected countries,” Lebanon should be exceptionally cautious, Abu Faour told reporters at a news conference.
Wael Abu Faour said Lebanon is more vulnerable than some other Arab countries because of the large Lebanese diaspora in Africa. Thousands of Lebanese live in African nations including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — countries where the disease has killed more than 4,500 people combined.
People traveling to Lebanon from infected countries will have to fill out special forms and any incoming plane carrying someone displaying Ebola symptoms will have all passengers tested at the airport, Abu Faour said.
Travelers who come from ‘Ebola-infected’ countries or who have a layover in one of these countries will have to fill out a form asking whether they have been experiencing any early symptoms.
If the passenger reports symptoms, they would be tested at the airport, according to Abu Faour. Anyone with Ebola would be quarantined at the airport until being transferred to Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut.
The hospital has been now equipped with a quarantine facility for Ebola carriers, according to Abu Faour. The American University of Beirut’s Medial Center is preparing to announce a similar unit soon.
For other hospitals with more than 100 beds, Abu Faour is requiring them to install quarantine units within three weeks.
“It is not that we have a choice,” he said. “The safety of the Lebanese people is at stake.”
The medical teams at all hospitals will receive training on the symptoms of the virus and on how to deal with Ebola-infected individuals. Abu Faour said the medical teams of south Lebanon had already received training Sunday and those of Beirut and Mount Lebanon would attend a training session Tuesday.
In addition, anyone suspected of carrying the virus will not be granted a visa at Lebanese embassies in infected countries.