Since the Ebola outbreak in West Africa months ago, government has effected preventive strategies against the rash of the disease in the country. Not only were borders closed but entry points into the country have been under surveillance.

Yesterday, the Governor of the Littoral Region, Joseph Beti Assomo, in his capacity as the President of the Regional Committee for the Fight against Epidemics and Pandemics, was at the Douala International Airport to assess the effectiveness of preventive measures against the Ebola virus.

Although the risk of an Ebola outbreak in the country is low following other stringent measures, the Committee and Airport officials are taking prevention precautions.

An Emergency Operation Centre to help coordinate technical assistance and control activities has been set up, including the installation of a thermal camera and laser thermometer to check all passengers entering the country through the airport. The Committee has also deployed a team of public health experts to the centre.

Martin Yamba Beyas, the Regional Delegate of Public Health for the Littoral, disclosed that 3,150,000 passengers have been checked by the centre since its installation in August 12, 2014.

“All who have shown signs of fever were placed under surveillance at the Airport for twenty-four hours. When final check up proved none had the Ebola fever, they were released. Also, flights between Cameroon and Congo as well as Senegal have been resumed but for Nigeria which will soon be opened.”

The Governor later led a delegation of the Regional Follow-up Committee of Truck Weighing Stations to Yassa. He told them that the FCFA 572,4 million collected as penalty between January and June is too much, meaning that trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are allowed to overload and degrade the road so that they will pay penalties.

Bélébenie Natanael, Chief of Station, and his team were advised to use repressive measures than allow truck drivers to violate rules in order to pay penalties.

Meanwhile, measures are being taken to relocate the Truck Weighing Station beyond the Dibamba Bridge to curb traffic congestion caused by trucks parked along the Douala-Yaounde highway around the station.