Concerns raised over Ebola procedures used with asylum seekers who entered hospital last Thursday were addressed by health authorities, who said all necessary precautions were taken.
Questions were raised on health procedures being implemented for the first time to counter the risk of Ebola when 87 asylum seekers were rescued by the army.
They disembarked at the AFM maritime base at Haywharf, where they were received by army officers in bio-hazard suits. The health authorities also set up a decontamination tent as a precaution.
The migrants, all men saying they came from Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, were screened before being allowed to get off the patrol boat.
The migrants, all men saying they came from Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, were screened before being allowed to get off the patrol boat
The health authorities said the risk was low because none of the men showed symptoms of the disease. The procedures at the port followed international guidelines, which took three hours to implement.
During these hours, anyone not wearing the protective gear was kept at a safe distance, including members of the media. Three of the migrants needing immediate medical attention were rushed to hospital in ambulances and admitted through corridors being used by other patients and visitors.
One of them died.
Witnesses asked whether the intensive procedures used at the port were then undermined by the transfer of the patients to hospital.
The health authorities said all three patients received resuscitative treatment by specialists and the area was cordoned off from the public and the rest of the department until the results of Ebola tests were known. These were negative.
The ambulances that transported the patients were not reused until they were cleaned in accordance with infection control guidelines, the authorities said.
Eight asylum seekers were transferred to Mater Dei Hospital on Thursday suffering from health problems as a result of their arduous journey on a dinghy attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe’s shores.
Two of the men were still in critical condition, suffering from dehydration after they drank seawater during the long trip.
The health authorities said all those who remained in hospital were in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency commended the efforts by the army to save lives at sea. Twenty had perished on the way, according to accounts by the asylum seekers.
UNHCR said this number continued to add to the shocking statistics from last year, when about 3,500 people died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe.
It reiterated its call for urgent and concerted European action to end the loss of life at sea.
It called for strengthened search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean as well as effective cooperation among states in the response to such desperate sea journeys.
UNHCR said redoubled efforts were required in countries of transit and in regions of origin to ensure that people who were on the move to find protection would be able to access legal ways of finding safe havens and sustainable solutions.