August 11, 2014
WB Govt taking measures against Ebola
West Bengal Government is takingprecautions in light of the global Ebola health emergency. The West BengalHealth Services Director said an isolation ward has been set up at theBeliaghata ID Hospital in Kolkata and a similar ward will be set up at theNorth Bengal Medical College and Hospital.
International carriers have been asked todistribute health forms on board arriving flights where passengers have toreport symptoms like fever, tendency to vomit and rash. Airlines have been alsoasked to put their cabin staff on alert so that they report passengersdisplaying symptoms of the disease to the pilot, who will then transmit theinformation to the airport authority. Immigration authorities were asked toflip through all the visas and stamps on the passport of incoming passengers tocheck if they have been to the Ebola affected countries in the past 21 days.
If anybody is detected displaying Ebolasymptoms or with documents that show they have been to one of the fourcountries, they will alert the airport medical unit. The doctors will thenescort the person to a segregated area for screening. The screening includeschecking the passenger's body temperature, signs of rash and other Ebolasymptoms. Though a thermal screen has been installed at the airport to identifythose suffering from fever in a planeload of passengers, it is not being usednow because there are no direct flights from Africa to Kolkata.
