Ebola: Trump asks Obama to stop flightsfrom West Africa

American business magnate, Donald Trump has asked the United States Government to halt flights from West African countries currently battling to contain the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. The affected West African countries are Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. The latter, according to reports, has recorded about seven confirmed cases of infection with the Ebola Virus Disease. Trump stated that since the prevention of the spread of the highly contagious virus can’t be guaranteed, it was important that the White House acted fast. Writing on his official Twitter page, Trump noted that the American government must “stop flights” from Nigeria and other affected countries so as not to create a “highway” for the Ebola virus to spread to the US. He said, “The bigger problem with Ebola is all of the people coming into the United States from West Africa who may be infected with the disease. Stop flights! “So many people are already agreeing with me on not creating a ‘highway’ for Ebola to the US. Ebola, which started in small area of Africa, is now spreading fast. Our government now imports illegal immigrants and deadly diseases. Our leaders are inept. We should not be importing the disease to our homeland.” But, the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has said that the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease should not be seen as an “image problem” for the affected West African countries. According to the NHRC chair, the outbreak, which has caused the death of no fewer than 932 persons, was the failure of prioritising public health. “Ebola is not an image problem for the affected countries; it reflects persistent failures in prioritising public health and sanitation. All those Nigerians belly aching over the way the United States was looking after its people with their Ebola serum should use their next Aso ebi money to change a life,” he wrote in a message posted on his Twitter page. Odinkalu lambasted the African heads of state and governments who attended the three-day 2014 US-Africa Leaders Summit, which ended in Washington DC on Wednesday. African Presidents and Prime Ministers, he argued, were not elected by their people to “periodically up sticks” and collectively head to Beijing, Paris or Washington DC “for inspection.” “How can Africa expect to be treated with respect when our leaders are quick to migrate overseas for summits about Africa?” Odinkalu asked. Meanwhile, following the report that one of the nurses who attended to the late Liberian- American, Patrick Sawyer, has died of the disease, public enlightenment campaigns have been intensified on social media. Already a group known as Big Media Cabal has launched a website, ebolafacts.com, to educate members of the public on ways of preventing the spread of the Ebola virus. The group warned that about 90 per cent of those that get infected with the virus will die, adding that it is one of the deadliest diseases in the world that kills in a few weeks. It said, “Ebola is what scientists call a haemorrhagic fever – it operates by making its victims bleed from almost anywhere on their body. Usually, victims bleed to death from Ebola. It is highly contagious; being transmitted via contact with body fluids such as blood, saliva, semen or body discharges. “It is not airborne! This is the sad part – Ebola has no known treatment or cure. Victims are usually treated for symptoms with the faint hope that they recover.” The group urged all those who visited its website to educate their close relatives, associates saying, “You’re safer when everyone is educated about Ebola.” Also, the Nigerian Medical Association has declared its readiness to support efforts aimed at enlightening the public on the Ebola virus despite its ongoing industrial action. It wrote on its Twitter page on Wednesday that members of the public interested in having a soft copy of fact sheets on the Ebola virus could send an electronic mail to factsebola@gmail.com . According to the NMA, its decision to educate the public was necessitated by the “various myths and fictitious information” on the deadly virus flying around, especially on the Internet. “We need to be properly guided and get facts. As soon as there’s any update we would post here on Twitter and on our other social media platforms. We will also be willing to answer your questions and concerns,” the medical association added.