Health Minister Joseph Kasonde has clarified that Zambia has not banned entry into the country of all individuals coming from Ebola hit countries but has merely issued a travel advisory.
Dr. Kasonde clarified that a travel advisory is not a ban but a travel advice restricting not only nationals of the affected countries but anyone traveling from the affected countries into Zambia.
He added that the travel advisory is a precautionary measure to ensure that Ebola does reach Zambia.
Dr. Kasonde was speaking at the Harry Mwaanga International Airport in Livingstone when he held a meeting with stakeholders.
He also announced that anyone suspected of having contracted the Ebola virus will be quarantined.
Ebola has broken out in West Africa and countries affected by the outbreak are Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
A statement posted on the Ministry of Health website on Saturday said Zambia would restrict entry of travellers from countries affected by the Ebola virus and would ban Zambians from travelling to those countries.
“All delegates from any of the countries affected by Ebola virus disease are restricted from entering Zambia until further notice,”
The statement, which was dated Aug. 8, also said that any Zambians arriving from those countries would be “thoroughly screened and quarantined”, adding that no further travel by Zambians to such countries would be allowed.
Worst thing that can happen to this leaderless country is Ebola as these empty tins in government are highly incompetent!!
Confused try and error government. Today someone says this Tommorow another refutes it, do these thugs have cabinet meetings?
When I say PF is full of Academically unbaked minds who went into government without a plan exactly two people come in my mind, one Wynter KABIMBA and now that enlarged ear lobe guy joseph Katema.
Why did PF spend billions of Kwacha on the draft constitution if the current constitution was sufficient in it current form? This is utter idoicy on the part of the PF. That money spent on the draft paper could have been better spent to modernise our hospitals and training specialist doctors,pharmacists and nurses. Shaaa!!! These fools, TB Joshua whence at though?
Dr.Jay Jay. MBchB,MP, PhD.
iwe kasonde,,,,no need to be politically correct,,, just banned those people from ebola countries,,,, WHO can got to hell with their travel rights.. ebola has no cure,,, ala think you are a Doctor,,,
This is why i say black people dont think,,,, the chap is a doctor and cant make decision,,, ebola has no cure and Zambia cant even afford simple panadols and you welcome people with ebola,,, this bemba kasonda he is a let down to his people.. sick!!!!!
Those Zambian spiritual tourists going to TB Joshua for miracles and holy water are the most likely to bring Ebola with them.
To be a PF cadre one really needs to be an educated illiterate. Look at the comments in the previous article where Dr Banda was insulted left right & centre…and now they are busy eating humble pie.
Could those that condemned Dr.Banda earlier apologies. Dr Kasonde represents a failed flip-flop govt. They do DON’T KUBEBA even when not necessary. What we we want to know is A,B, C…algorithm of how to go about a suspected or confirmed Ebola case.
Ze minister doesn’t seem to know whom a Travel Advisory applies – It applies to zedians trying to travel out – & NOT TO TRAVELLERS COMING IN!!!
Confused government today someone says this another says rubish
When I say PF is full of Academically unbaked minds who went into government without a plan exactly two people come in my mind, one Wynter KABIMBA and now that enlarged ear lobe guy joseph Katema.
Why did PF spend billions of Kwacha on the draft constitution if the current constitution was sufficient in it current form? This is utter idoicy on the part of the PF. That money spent on the draft paper could have been better spent to modernise our hospitals and training specialist doctors,pharmacists and nurses. Shaaa!!! These fools, TB Joshua whence at though?
Dr.Jay Jay. MBchB,MP, PhD.
iwe Dr kasonde,,,,no need to be politically correct,,, just banned those people from ebola countries,,,, WHO can got to hell with their travel rights.. ebola has no cure,,, ala think you are a Doctor
Aw aaa, shucks! We’re up for it now. This is just wrong. In the alternative, gov’t can just refuse visas, I mean….THATS the legal ‘back’ route. They just have to be creative……”um sorry sir Zambia’s too full that week”
As far as I remember the word restrict is not the same as the word ban. If we play politics with everything everything we see from anywhere will be deemed PF incompetence when in fact not. These are protocols of WHO that we voluntarily signed up to. Lobby for a blackout before you direct firepower to the wrong target.
Ok. Meant BACKOUT in the last sentence, not blackout. This autocorrect is a nuisance.
TB Joshua’s tourists will bring problems here in Zambia. More over the man is nothing but a business man. Let’s see if he can cure ebola victims in his own country. Otherwise Kasonde is very much right. Only blind opposition will condemn his action.
All those that did not understand Dr Banda can you say sorry now, your of ministers are crazy.
Dr Canicius Banda vindicated after PF keyboard cadres eating the humble pie. Mungachae imwe !2016 strategy vindicated too.
PF government flip-flop statements has been the thumb rule of PF governance. Zambian public
“All delegates from any of the countries affected by Ebola virus disease are restricted from entering Zambia until further notice,”
The statement, which was dated Aug. 8, also said that any Zambians arriving from those countries would be “thoroughly screened and quarantined”, adding that no further travel by Zambians to such countries would be allowed.
I am not a travel consultant but this does not sound Advisory at all. These are RESTRICTIONS. NO need to be apologetic or play with semantics just because some trvel agencies will lose buisness or because UPND is politiking as if ebola will choose/segregate between who is PF & who is UPND. Airlines are cancelling flights to West Africa .Ebola is not a matter to take lightly/play politics
STOP all those trips to TB Joshua by Zambians. And those who are already there must be quarantined, screened blood samples taken and analysed before being released to mix with the rest of the population (not just filing in a questionnnaire at the point of entry/which iscurently the case)!!
@ Saulosi, the Zambian spiritual tourists flocking to T.B Joshua in Nigeria should just be advised to commute their return air tickets with fufu there. If they catch ebola, let them administer Joshua’s anointed water and they will be cured according to their belief. Let them stay in Nigeria indefinitely.
So Dr. C. Banda can not distinguish between banning entry into the country and issuing advisory precaution? This is how HH is orienting him in the fo0ls’ paradise to criticize anything.
Wise descision by government, absolutely no need for any ban at this stage. Ebola though deadly is a very manageable disease. The reason for the continued situation is because in west Africa there are some cultures that you can’t understand, not going to the hospital is one and people just end up infecting one another. They still don’t want to stop eat bats which are the original habitat for the Ebola virus. As president Obama and other doctors said, with a good health infrastructure it is easy to contain the disease. The incubation period is 21 days and in those 21 days you can’t catch it, you can only catch it when somebody is acutely ill, almost incapacitated to stand. You can even tell which person can give you Ebola because the person has to be visibly very ill to pass it on.
zambians mulibamano when writing comments. Try and error govt, govt of empty tins! We think its so easy.
The shouldn’t just allow anybody to go ouside the country and vicevesa!