Czech police and hazmat suit-wearing doctors last Saturday seized a traveler from Ghana at Prague’s main railway station. The man, suspected of suffering from the Ebola virus, was wrapped in black plastic by the authorities and taken away.
The police dispatched some 15 officers from the capital’s rapid response squad to cordon off the station’s lobby, iDNES.cz news website reported. The operation didn’t interrupt the normal operation of the railway station, but probably scared passengers who were in the vicinity.
The target of the police operation was a student from Ghana, who arrived in Prague earlier Saturday evening. He managed to get through medical screening at the airport and was caught later at the railway station.
But Zita Sabah Okaikoi revealed on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday that the student only had a cold.
“Ghana has not reported any Ebola cases. The student only had a cold but I was told that someone raised an alarm that he looked like an Ebola person" she stressed.
The Czech Ambassador noted that the other students who were with the suspected student were also detained but were later freed after 4 hours when they tested negative.
She however described the situation as unfortunate adding that the suspect is traumatized by the treatment meted out to him.
Mrs. Okaikoi indicated that the people of Czech Republic see West Africa as one country.
“These people always see West Africa as one country and so anyone who comes from an African country, they think that person has Ebola because they know Ebola is associated with West Africa. It is really unfortunate” she added.
The worst-hit countries of the virus are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Ghana is where the UN mission to combat the outbreak is located.
The threat of Ebola has sparked fear and paranoia among many people in countries outside of Africa, with calls to halt airline traffic with places affected by the epidemic.
Source: Ghana/ Adomonline.com/Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy
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