Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara said on Friday his country will lift the controversial suspension of flights to countries stricken by the Ebola virus to show solidarity with the nations affected by the lethal outbreak.
He said the initial decision to suspend flights was prompted by uncertainty about the threat, which he called a terrible problem for the people of west Africa.
“When Ebola first broke out, people got panicked,” he said. “Obviously we rushed to make certain decisions. Now that everything is under control – there is no case of Ebola in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) – I have decided that next week we will lift the suspension of flights and the maritime suspension.”
In addition, he said Ivory Coast has opened a “humanitarian corridor” so that people who want to enter Ivory Coast can be checked. The country has also contributed $1m to the international anti-Ebola effort.
Ouattara, who addressed the United Nations general assembly on Friday, said initial concerns were prompted by Ivory Coast’s shared borders with two countries – Guinea and Liberia – hit by Ebola.
No comments:
Post a Comment