The Virgin Islands now has a draft National Ebola Plan that was shared with relevant government agencies last week, according to a press release issued Monday.
The release states that the multi-sector committee established to prepare the territory in case of Ebola coming to the VI met Friday to share the plan and discuss its implementation, said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronald Georges.
“The next steps will include addressing capacity through agreement with private health care facilities and training for medical response and psychosocial teams,” Dr. Georges said. “We also have to review the procedure for the disposal of dead bodies and infectious waste. This will be covered as we review the national mass fatality plan.”
A national Ebola education campaign is also in the works.
“We want to make sure that correct information is disseminated to our populace as well as life-saving information of dos and don’ts, so collectively we can all help to lower our risk to this virus,” Dr. Georges said.
Though medical experts have said that it is unlikely that will Ebola reach the Caribbean, he went on to say that the territory is preparing for the worst.
“At this time we want to reassure the public that a tremendous amount of work is being undertaken,” Dr. Georges said. “We are training, networking, educating and planning as we prepare for any eventuality of this virus.”
Agencies involved in Friday’s discussions included the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Department of Disaster Management, the BVI Health Services Authority, the Environmental Health Unit, the VI Airports Authority, and the Customs and Immigration departments.
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