Pinoy official says UN making sure peacekeepers in Liberia remain Ebola-free

No worker of the United Nations in Liberia have tested positive for the Ebola virus and the UN has taken steps to make sure the situation stays that way, the Filipino deputy police commissioner of the UN Mission in Liberia has said.

Senior Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, who's now in the Philippines, said the 112 soldiers and 28 police officers that make up the Filipino peacekeeping force in Liberia are all safe despite the threat of contracting the virus.

Binag said the peacekeeping work continues despite the threat. To keep peacekeepers safe, he said the UN distributed masks and gloves.

He added that peacekeepers are not allowed to handle patients and the dead to keep them from being infected with the virus.  

Binag said peacekeepers' body temperature are taken before they are allowed to enter their camp.

He said the World Health Organization gave a briefing on the Ebola virus. The WHO said Ebola was not an airborne disease and could only be contracted through direct contact with body fluids of those who are sick with Ebola or from the remains of those who have died from it.

Binag said he went through a health assessment at the UN peacekeepers' office before he left Liberia. He said he wouldn't have been allowed to leave if his health was not okay.

He also went through health checks at Liberia's airport.

Binag said Department of Health personnel also interviewed him when he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. —Ian Cruz/NB/KG, GMA News

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