Rivers
State Governor and factional Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum,
Chibuike Amaechi, has called on religious and traditional leaders in the
state to collaborate and work with the state government to contain the
Ebola virus in the state.At a
meeting with traditional rulers, and religious leaders in the state,
held at Government House, Port Harcourt, Amaechi gave the leaders an
expository on the Ebola virus and enjoined them to sensitse the people
in their different domains, and partner with his administration in its
rescue effort.
Amaechi also warned against stigmatisation of people suspected to be
infected with the Ebola virus, stressing that the state government was
doing its best to contain and eliminate the disease in the state.
He urged religious leaders to preach about the disease in their churches and mosques, while traditional rulers should help create awareness in their various communities. He urged them to encourage those under them to imbibe healthy living and wash their hands regularly.
“Ebola is not a death sentence if properly managed. If you think you are Ebola positive and you know and you run away, you are living in self-denial. So, we want our pastors, our Imams and our traditional rulers to pass on this message.
“First, don’t heal them for us, don’t touch them for us. Just call us, we will come there and in six hours after examination of the person, we will get the result and treat the person accordingly. We are doing that to curtail the spread of Ebola in our communities, so that we can be free to do our normal businesses. But for now, don’t live in fear, don’t panic. If you suspect a case, please call the Ebola line,” Amaechi admonished.
“We are discouraging people, who have Ebola from going to church. You know why? Church is a place that you have a large crowd of people. If you touch one person or two persons, you are contaminating the environment and the people, and they may get infected. If you suspect, don’t stigmatise them, call the Ebola line, we will come there, they will examine them. We have the machine to test them and within six hours we can get the result whether a person is Ebola positive or negative.
“You don’t need to run away when you have Ebola. When you run away, you will infect your family members. That means they can also possibly die, but if you report to government, government will take you in, we will feed you and feed you well, and doctors will treat the symptoms if they come.”
Amaechi urged the religious and traditional leaders to report suspected cases of Ebola virus using the available Ebola help lines: 08167733939, 08033124314, 07036321076 or the state’s emergency line 112, stressing that the state had the necessary facilities to deal with the outbreak but called for the cooperation of everyone in the state to successfully stamp out the Ebola disease.
He urged religious leaders to preach about the disease in their churches and mosques, while traditional rulers should help create awareness in their various communities. He urged them to encourage those under them to imbibe healthy living and wash their hands regularly.
“Ebola is not a death sentence if properly managed. If you think you are Ebola positive and you know and you run away, you are living in self-denial. So, we want our pastors, our Imams and our traditional rulers to pass on this message.
“First, don’t heal them for us, don’t touch them for us. Just call us, we will come there and in six hours after examination of the person, we will get the result and treat the person accordingly. We are doing that to curtail the spread of Ebola in our communities, so that we can be free to do our normal businesses. But for now, don’t live in fear, don’t panic. If you suspect a case, please call the Ebola line,” Amaechi admonished.
“We are discouraging people, who have Ebola from going to church. You know why? Church is a place that you have a large crowd of people. If you touch one person or two persons, you are contaminating the environment and the people, and they may get infected. If you suspect, don’t stigmatise them, call the Ebola line, we will come there, they will examine them. We have the machine to test them and within six hours we can get the result whether a person is Ebola positive or negative.
“You don’t need to run away when you have Ebola. When you run away, you will infect your family members. That means they can also possibly die, but if you report to government, government will take you in, we will feed you and feed you well, and doctors will treat the symptoms if they come.”
Amaechi urged the religious and traditional leaders to report suspected cases of Ebola virus using the available Ebola help lines: 08167733939, 08033124314, 07036321076 or the state’s emergency line 112, stressing that the state had the necessary facilities to deal with the outbreak but called for the cooperation of everyone in the state to successfully stamp out the Ebola disease.
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War on Ebola: Amaechi meets religious, traditional leaders |
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