Many people will approve of the Cabinet decision on Thursday to deny entry into T&T to people from the countries in which there have been more than 4,500 Ebola cases.There will be some who consider the decision xenophobic and ineffectual. It must be recognised too that the decision will have a domino effect, not only on individuals, but possibly on T&T's business relations, especially in the energy sector, and hence will have economic consequences.
But no chances can be taken with the Ebola virus, which is killing more than 50 per cent of the people who contract it. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has projected that by December, there could be 5,000 to 10,000 new cases weekly and by then 70 per cent of those will die.
In addition, citizens of T&T who have recently visited the countries badly affected by Ebola, on returning home, are to be quarantined for 21 days. This, says the WHO, is the incubation period before the effects of the virus become visible and highly contagious.
In order for this plan to be effective, it is vital that proper quarantine arrangements are put in place. In addition, the Government, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the T&T embassies in West Africa, needs to establish the numbers and names of locals who may be in harm's way and so be in a position to better monitor their return.
But one of the hardest categories of arriving passengers to identify will be those who have not come directly from the affected countries, and who may not want to reveal this information because of the lengthy and inconvenient quarantine period. How is this difficulty to be surmounted?Critical to preventing the virus entering and becoming established in the region is for Caricom member states to come together and take a common position on protecting the borders of the region against Ebola.
There is constant and widespread travel between and amongst regional countries, and that means if one person were to enter the region with the virus, it is going to be a herculean task to prevent it from spreading to member states. Caricom ministers of health, like those of the smaller regional grouping of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have done, must meet to establish an immediate regional screening, prevention and protection protocol.
The next step to be taken by the Government and its Ebola team will be to establish the internal mechanisms to quarantine and to treat anyone if the need becomes reality.The best possible protection must be arranged for medical personnel and others who may have to look after and process potential patients arriving here. In this respect, president of the Public Services Association Watson Duke should seek to establish a productive working relationship with the Government.
It is important to recognise that the ban is by no means a watertight method.But if it may help, given what appears to be the unprepared state of regional and local health systems, and the growing public fears, then it may be prudent to have it in place for now while other preventive measures and plans for treatment are developed.