Guinea postpones reopening of schools due to Ebola
Health workers take off their protective suits as they finish their shifts at the Pita Hospital in Pita, Guinea, on August 25, 2014. With its collapsed health service, sick and poorly equipped security forces and broken economy, Ebola-hit Liberia finds itself on the brink of complete societal breakdown, experts warn. PHOTO | AFP
The ministry of education in Guinea has announced that schools and universities will remain closed indefinitely due to the Ebola epidemic.
The head of the department of prevention at the health ministry, Dr. Sekoba Kouyaté, said schools would remain closed until measures to prevent the spread of the disease were concluded.
He expressed disappointment that the government had not taken the necessary measures early enough before the reopening of schools, which normally takes place in early October.
Dr. Kouyaté explained that one of the measures is the training of teachers on basic actions to take against the spread of the Ebola virus in schools and universities.
In a related development, health officials in regions worst hit by Ebola in Guinea have appealed to the international community to assist the authorities in fighting the virus.
EPICENTER
The officials said help was particularly needed in the regions around the south-eastern town of Gueckedou.
Guekedou is a densely forested region located along the borders with Sierra Leone and Guinea and is the epicentre of the latest Ebola epidemic.
West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) quoted the local health officials in the Gueckedou region of complaining about the lack of ambulances and other health facilities needed to assist affected persons.
The officials complained about the lack of proper burial facilities, which they attributed to the rapid spread of the deadly virus.
Since the eruption of the epidemic in Guinea in January, the country has registered 826 cases of Ebola and 534 deaths.
