By Mohamed Vandi in Kenema
Police in Kenema say they had to fire teargas to dispatch a crowd of angry youths and family members who had gathered at the government hospital demanding the release of their relatives that reportedly died of Ebola.
Community relations officer of the regional police division, Sergeant 10322 Kamara Prince Jaygboi, confirmed that police intervention helped protect the hospital and medical practitioners who were undersiege.
He said they were now permanently deployed at the hospitalpremises because there was still a huge disbelief among the public of the existence of the deadly haemorrhagic disease in the eastern district headquarter town.
The rioters, who threw stones and other missiles at the hospital facilities, demanded that theirdead relatives be released to them for burial.One of them said she was very sceptical that her relation died of Ebola and that there was every need for family members to see the corpses.
She claimed that “the ugly situation and deaths associated with Ebola have made the hospital hell for sick people”.
Health workers, especially the nurses, were targeted and some jeered at by members of the public. A community health worker at the hospital, who asked for anonymity, said they had been molested by some members of the public when going and returning from work.
“They call us Ebola Nurses”, she cried, adding that if the situation continuedlike that unabated the hospital would soon go without nurses.
More than ten nurses and other medical practitioners were reported to have contacted Ebola and some had died in the process of medical examination, a hospital source told Politico.
Meanwhile, a checkpoint to examine travellers to Freetown and other parts of the country had been erected at Bandama, some two miles from Kenema.
The district medical officer, Dr Mohamed Vandi, said the checkpoint was to avoid the spread of the disease into other parts of the country.
(C) Politico 01/07/14
