Bertrand Sinal, the Minister of Public Health, announced measures to prevent the possible entry of Ebola cases into Haiti. Thus, the establishment of passive vigilance requiring 21 days of confinement in a third country not affected by Ebola for any person coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo (more than 1,100 cases and more than 300 deaths in the east of the country) or Uganda before entering Haitian territory. In addition, each person concerned must undergo a complete health check before arriving on national territory.

10 countries bordering these two countries (epicenter of the Ebola epidemic) are under close surveillance : South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Congo (Brazzaville), Burundi, Angola, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Zambia,

"We made these decisions because the Haitian health system is not ready to face a possible Ebola epidemic if the virus were to enter the national territory," stressed Sinal, recalling that the Ministry of Public Health does not have the logistical resources nor the territorial control necessary to impose or manage a national quarantine or large-scale isolation centers, the priority of local infrastructure being focused on the current humanitarian and hospital crisis in Port-au-Prince.

The Minister informed the Ministry of the Interior as well as the National Airport Authority (AAN) of this decision. Agents from the services concerned will be mobilized to ensure their application at the various points of entry into the country.

Concerning international and humanitarian organizations operating in Haiti, they apply their own rules of preventive isolation and 21-day screening for their personnel before their deployment on Haitian soil.

S/ HaitiLibre