Hong Kong authorities have prepared a quarantine facility on Lantau Island as they step up efforts to guard against the potential spread of the deadly Ebola virus following an outbreak in Central Africa.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Tuesday it was working closely with stakeholders to implement stringent prevention and control measures after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”.
The latest outbreak began in early May in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since spread to neighbouring Uganda through imported cases.
According to the latest joint reports from the WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the DR Congo recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases, about 246 to 336 suspected cases, and 80 to 88 suspected deaths between Saturday and Monday.
Uganda has reported two confirmed cases and one death. Ebola is a highly contagious disease spread through bodily fluids such as blood and vomit. It has a high fatality rate, reaching up to 90 per cent in some previous outbreaks, according to the CHP, citing WHO information.
A CHP spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that officials had inspected the Penny’s Bay community isolation facility to ensure it was ready for use should quarantine orders become necessary.
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