WARNING: This article contains an image of a graphic nature.
AS NIGERIA CONFIRMED five more Ebola cases today and a second death from the virus, Ireland has pledged a further €120,000 in funding to help fight the spread of the disease.
Minister of State Sean Sherlock expressed his concern that the virus was continuing to spread, saying today it was “extremely worrying and is having a devastating impact on already vulnerable communities”.
The additional funding from Ireland brings our total to €350,000. It will be used to help raise awareness of transmission and prevention of the disease and to assist its containment.
“I call on the international community to further support these efforts in a coordinated manner through the allocation of more human and financial resources to support these countries,” Sherlock said today.
Since breaking out earlier this year, the tropical virus has claimed almost 900 lives and infected more than 1,603 people across west Africa. The other cases have been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Reuters reported today that relative of victims have defied government orders and dumped infected bodies in the streets as authorities struggle to enforce tough measures to curb the outbreak.
They did this to avoid facing quarantine, according to officials.
Spain’s government said today that it was sending an air force plane to Liberia to fly an elderly missionary infected with Ebola back home for treatment. A US aid worker has also been flown home.
British Airways has now suspended all flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until the end of August over the virus outbreak.
- With additional reporting from AFP.
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