The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – More concrete actions were reported this morning by the authorities of the Ministry of Health and Costa Rican Social Security and to address possible cases of Ebola in the country while asking the population not to panic.
One of the most immediate actions was to appoint the Alajuela Hospital and the National Child care centers as the lockdown destinations for suspected cases of Ebola.
According to the Minister of Health, Dr. María Elena López, this disease has everyone worried, but she said the country itself is prepared.
“We are activating plans and we have security enabled protocols that will allow us to treat any health emergency should it arise. We are monitoring the epidemic. Alajuela Hospital and Children’s are the centers where suspected cases of Ebola will be. We are facing a global alert; people must be informed and avoid panic.”
The director of the Hospital de Alajuela, Dr. Francisco Pérez, said the staff is trained in regards to protective gear, biosafety guidelines and protocols.
In addition, the medical case manager, Dr. Eugenia Villalta, stressed that all hospitals have protective equipment and at least level two safety equipment.
The Director of Health Surveillance, Dr. Mary Ethel Trejos, assured that the possibility of the Ebola entering Costa Rica is “quite low”.
“We’ve had international activities at other times, like last weekend, for which we had organized for people. We we had a list of these people who came from different parts of Africa, and we were prepared with Immigration and Foreign Affairs, and health staff using questionnaires to know where they were the last 21 days. This group of 70 foreigners came from Congo and Guinea.”
It’s expected that in the coming days there will be a mock biosecurity drill at the Juan Santamaria International Airport. (Crhoy)
San Jose, Costa Rica
