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Australia seeks hospital back-up for volunteers in Ebola-hit countries

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AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS SENDING HEALH WORKERS TO WEST AFRICA; MEANWHILE BANS VISAS FOR VISITORS FROM EBOLA-AFFLICTED COUNTRIES

THE GUARDIAN                                          Oct. 27, 2014

The Australian government is reconsidering its previous decision not to send health workers to West Africa. It seeks reassurances that any stricked Australian health workers can receive treatment in Western facilities.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) president, Brian Owler, said the UK and US were building “state of the art” treatment centres in west Africa for international healthcare workers and he expected Australia would be able to strike an agreement.

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/27/australia-seeks-hospital-back-up-volunteers-ebola-hit-countries

MELBOURNE HERALD                                Oct.  27, 2014

Meanwhile Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament that immigration had been suspended from West African Countries afflicted with Ebola and no new visas were being processed.

Citizens and permanent residents can re-enter the country, but tourism, study and humanitarian visas were temporarily halted as long as a fortnight ago.

“We’re not processing any applications from the affected countries,’’ Mr Morrison said.

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http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/australia-bans-entry-to-visitors-from-ebolaaffected-west-african-nations/story-fni0fiyv-1227104102994?nk=5483971a6c6a14628ab2357e95ac6546

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The United Nations said such measures could discourage vital relief work, making it harder to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

 "Anything that will dissuade foreign trained personnel from coming here to West Africa and joining us on the frontline to fight the fight would be very, very unfortunate," Anthony Banbury, head of the U.N. Ebola Emergency Response Mission (UNMEER), told Reuters in the Ghanaian capital Accra.

  Sierra Leone called the Australian move draconian.

 "It is discriminatory in that ... it is not (going) after Ebola but rather it is ... against the 24 million citizens of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea," Information Minister Alpha Kanu told Reuters. "Certainly, it is not the right way to go."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/28/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0IH08T20141028

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