Imeko-Afon town. Mr. Soyinka said the suspects were sighted by health teams operating within the local government area and promptly stopped for an examination. He added that their health status would be determined at the end of 21 days. The Commissioner said the government was producing a variety of information materials for the public in Yoruba, the main language in the state. He said the state had also taken delivery of protective suits and other equipment needed for its isolation centre and was ready to take in patients if necessary. Mr. Soyinka said, as at the time of the press conference, the state remained free of the Ebola virus. He disclosed that as part of its emergency response plan, the state government was compiling a list of volunteers who could be called upon for a variety of tasks. “We thank the civic minded individuals who have already volunteered,” he said. He noted that an urgent need in a situation of this nature was for quarantine and isolation centres. He said currently, three sites – one per senatorial district –have been set aside, with an aim to eventually set up one per local government area. Medical practitioners condemn resident doctors’ sack In a related development, the Ogun State Chapter of Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, frowned at the nationwide Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, strike, saying it had dragged on for too long without evidence that a lasting solution was on the way. The consultants association’s observation was contained in a communique issued at the end of its emergency meeting at the State Hospital, Abeokuta. It called on the Federal Government, as a matter of urgency, to put an end to this impasse. Signed by the association’s secretary C.A Erinle, the communique also condemned the attempt by the Federal Government to “casualise” the medical profession in Nigeria by employing “locum Doctors.” The association also condemned the sacking of over 16,000 resident doctors in Federal Health Institutions nationwide. “We hereby appeal for a reversal of this decision by the Federal Government of Nigeria in the interest of the general populace,” the association said. It also noted that the decision to single out the members of the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, an affiliate of NMA rather than the entire body was ill-advised and harsh. “The Federal Government’s decision to sack the resident doctors at this time that the country is making frantic efforts, with the willingness of doctors to risk their lives to put an end to the Ebola Virus Disease spread in the country, shows that the government is not really sensitive to the need of the populace,” the communique emphasised.
SOURCE PREMIUM TIMES