St Vincent issues entry restriction as Trinidad evaluates Ebola preparedness

Port of Spain, Trinidad — The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines has announced that, with immediate effect, all travellers to St Vincent and the Grenadines from West Africa, especially students from Nigeria, must be in possession of a valid entry visa and certified medical certificate indicating that they have been tested for Ebola and are clear from infection.

Failure to adhere to this measure will result in these passengers being denied entry into St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Meanwhile, local stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago have been evaluating the country’s preparedness to combat the virus.

On September 16, stakeholders met at the National Operations Centre concerning the Ebola virus.

During the meeting, Dr Colin Furlonge gave a brief account of the present state of the Ebola virus and the present state with respect to surveillance, detection, treatment, prognosis and the current state of readiness/preparedness.

The topics discussed at the meeting included the creation of committees to deal with various aspects of the prevention and treatment of the virus comprising of selected members of the stakeholders committee as well as the need to hold a meeting with Tobago stakeholders to ensure their readiness to respond to an Ebola threat.

Also discussed was the need for a Caribbean response to Ebola to be tabled at the next regular meeting of chief medical officers of the Caribbean to be held in October.