Capitol Hill, Monrovia – The House of Representatives has summoned officials of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) to inform the House on preventive mechanisms being put in place to prevent the coronavirus outbreak.
Minister of Health, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah and the Acting Director-General of NPHIL, Dr. Mosoka P. Fallah have been asked to appear before plenary on Thursday, January 30.
Plenary’s decision derived from communication from Rep. Dixon Wlawlee Seboe (District #16, Montserrado) on Tuesday, January 28, calling on health authorities to comment on the country’s preparedness to prevent the virus.
Plenary took the decision in the wake of reports that an unnamed student, who returned to the Ivory Coast from Beijing on Saturday, is undergoing further tests after showing flu-like symptoms of the virus.
The virus, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far infected over 2,000 people and killed 56.
Rep. Seboe, in his communication, noted that the rate at which the virus is spreading is alarming, and as such, there was a need to engage the country’s health authorities to inform the Liberian people through the Legislature about steps that are being taken to handle any outbreak in Liberia.
“The statistic presented relating to the amount of cases discovered and corresponding deaths in this brief period is so alarming and scaring,” he wrote.
This led to a sustained debate on the floor with several lawmakers lauding Rep. Seboe’s move.
Rep. Mariamu Fofana (District #4, Lofa County), taking to the floor, said the appearance of the health officials will help outline precautionary plans and information to keep citizens alerted.
In her recollections over the 2014 deadly Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which claimed the lives of over 11,000 people from these three countries, Rep. Fofana said her district was the worst affected area outside Monrovia.
She said more people were affected and lost their lives because they were caught unaware with no prior information and education on preventive measures.
The House Chairman of the Health Committee, Rep. Joseph N. Somwarbi (District #3, Nimba County) said NPHIL and MOH are working with partners to put in place better precautionary mechanisms.
Some of these mechanisms, he said, include a retroactive tracking system that is being carried out by NPHIL and educating the population to do proper hand washing with soap to avoid crowded areas and person to person contact, among other protocols.
The debate culminated with a motion proffered by Rep. Moima Briggs (District #6, Bong County) calling on the health officials to appear on Thursday, January 30.