Ebola: 340 Cases Under Surveillance in Rivers State

The Rivers Commissioner for Health, Sampson Parker, on Wednesday said there were 340 Ebola Virus disease (EVD) cases under surveillance in the state.

Parker made the remark in Port Harcourt during a sensitization workshop at Ogu, in Ogu/Bolo local government area.

He said the state government was not in a hurry to reopen primary and secondary schools because of the situation.

Parker stressed that government would announce a date for re-opening of public schools after assessing the situation in the next few weeks.

The commissioner advised people of the area to imbibe a healthy life style to avert contracting the disease.

Parker urged them to always wash their hands with soap and water.

“We want schools to reopen as soon as possible, but we are still assessing the situation before we can do anything,’’ he added.

He called on the people to always report cases of deaths and stop the habit of burying dead bodies in a hurry.

The commissioner urged people of the area to alert local government disease surveillance officers as soon as there were cases of deaths.

“As a matter of fact, every death must be reported to local government health officials before anybody can touch it,’’ Parker said.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/John Moore