MONROVIA, LIBERIA- The United States Government has provided forty-million United States Dollars assistance to Liberia’s Health Sector.
According to a US Embassy release issued Thursday, April 2, 2020, the money is part of nearly one-hundred-million US Dollars annual assistance to Liberia.
The money, according to the release, will also be used to support Liberia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The release also quotes the US Embassy as saying it will work with the Health Ministry and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) to facilitate the response efforts.
Currently the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) is supporting training for contact tracers through its field epidemiology Training Program and Infection, Prevention and Control Training for health care workers.
In a related development, the CDC wants Health Authorities in Liberia identify all suspected cases of coronavirus and take them into isolation for testing.
The US-CDC said:” By doing that, the present COVID-19 situation in the Country will be put under control.”
Speaking Thursday, April 2, 2020, at the weekly briefing of the Incident Management Team (IMT) in Congo Town, the Organization’s Country Director, Desmond Williams, said treatment must also be initiated for the confirmed cases.
Dr.Williams also recommended active contact tracing for all contacts from the confirmed cases and quarantine them for fourteen days.
He called on Health Authorities to deploy a strategy that will encourage community-Government’s participation to stop the importation of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Dr.Desmond Williams has pledged the support of the Unite States Center for Disease Control to defeat coronavirus in Liberia.
Also Liberia’s Health Authorities say the tracing of the source of infection for one of the Country’s latest three confirmed cases of CONVID-19 is a serious challenge.
The latest three confirmed cases included the driver and security of the index case, while the other is an individual who travelled to Sweden on January 29, 2020.
NPHIL Director General Dr.Mosoka Fallah said:” The case involving the individual from Sweden remains a mystery, as he became symptomatic for more than forty-three days after coming back home on February 3, 2020.”
Addressing the COVID-19 update Thursday, April 2, 2020, Dr.Fallah explained that health authorities are making frantic effort to establish the individual’s source of infection.
Dr.Fallah said forty-eight contacts of the individual have been identified, while contact tracing is continuing at his work place and place of worship to identify other contacts for possible quarantine.
At the same time, Liberia has been advised to abide by all health protocol, especially social distancing.
Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah said the IMT has observed that people are refusing to adhere to social distancing.
The Minister said:” Mass gathering of people is a recipe for the spread of the virus, and appealed to everyone at the borders of Liberia to adjust their lives in ensuring that the fight against the global pandemic is successful.”
Dr.Jallah is urging all persons within the Country’s borders to continue washing their hands, keep social distance, use protective mask and ensure washing hand facilities are placed everywhere.
Health Minister Jallah said there is global appeal for supports to African countries to help boost their health sectors in ensuring the global fight against the COVID-19.
