Greek Health Ministry to hold emergency Ebola meeting

Health Ministry officials will be meeting with representatives of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) on Friday to discuss measures being taken to deal with a potential Ebola infection in Greece in the wake of six cases being reported in Spain.

Health Minister Makis Voridis told local TV station Antenna on Thursday that emergency measures have been in place since the start of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa five months ago, which has claimed nearly 4,000 lives so far.

KEELPNO, the minister assured, has already sealed off a special area in a separate building of the Sismanoglio Hospital in northern Athens to serve as a quarantine and treatment unit in the case that a patient shows any symptoms of the lethal virus. He added that special directives have been sent to airports, ports and other border crossings around the country informing staff of the symptoms they need to look out for in new arrivals to the country.

The ministry and KEELPNO have also scheduled emergency response drills to take place over the next few days.