Several Employees Of Foreign Ministry Undergo 21 Days Quarantine

Several employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified to have close contacts with the late Mrs. Sharon Shamoyan Washington, Administrative Assistant to Foreign Minister, Mr. Augustine Ngafuan has been sent home to undergo 21 days quarantine. According to an official statement from the Ministry, Madam Washington, wife of J. Wesley Washington, Deputy Presidential Press Secretary in the Office of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, died on Monday as a result of Ebola. Mrs. Washington reportedly got the virus from a sister, who had previously died. A praying woman, who reportedly had sessions and laid hands on the sister of the deceased Administrative Assistant, has also died.

“She was a dedicated civil servant and contributed immensely to the Ministry and the Government over the many years she worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the Minister said.

At least 160 health workers have been infected with the virus and 79 have died, in a nation that counted a paltry single doctor per 100,000 inhabitants at its onset. Landgren pointed out that the challenge also goes beyond the medical response.

In the statement, Foreign Minister Augustine Ngafuan noted that the entire family of the Ministry is deeply saddened and devastated over the loss of Mrs. Sharon Shamoyan Washington, who he said died Monday for what the Foreign Ministry described as “circumstances that could suggest Ebola.

Assistant Minister for Public Affairs, Horatio Bobby Willie has explained that the last time the Minister Ngafuan interacted with the late Washington was on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, the date he departed the country for Washington DC for the US-Africa Leader's Summit. The statement falls short to indicate whether other senior officials also have close contact with the late administrative assistant to the Foreign Minister since the late Madam Washington was occupying a strategic position at the Ministry. The Ministry is yet to also release the names of the employees sent home to undergo a 21 days quarantine.

The foreign Ministry statement read: “Washington passed away (exactly 40 days), the Minister had not seen Mrs. Washington although he and other personnel of the Ministry were in touch with her via cellphone. When information was received that the late Mrs. Washington had lost her sister and two other family members in what appeared to be circumstances that could suggest Ebola, the Minister immediately sent a message from the US instructing that Mrs. Washington and all other personnel of the Ministry who had had close interactions with her be advised to stay away from work for at least 21 days.

The minister explained that Mrs. Washington and at least five (5) personnel began their 21- day stay-home on Wednesday, August 13, 2014. “Incidentally, the Minister returned to Liberia on the same August 13, 2014 via Delta Airlines around 5 PM bringing along two boxes containing the Z-Mapp experimental drugs.

The 21-day observation period actually ended on September 2, 2014 but the Minister instructed an extension of the stay home of Mrs. Washington and the five (5) others until otherwise advised. Unfortunately, Mrs. Washington passed away on Monday, September 8, 2014, six (6) days after the expiry of the first 21 days and exactly 27 days since Mrs. Washington and the five other personnel were put on compulsory observation.”

The Ministry has been the seat of the presidency since 2006 when fire gutted the fourth floor during celebrations marking the 159th Independence Day celebrations in the presence of three West African leaders, who had come to witness the then newly-elected President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf switch on electricity to reach limited parts of the capital city.

Liberia is worst hit among the nations affected by the current Ebola epidemic with at least 1,200 recorded deaths. Over the past three weeks, the country has experienced a 68% bump in infections and the World Health Organization estimates the surge will continue to accelerate in coming weeks.

Humanitarian groups in the country have been complaining that there simply aren’t enough beds and suspected victims of Ebola are reportedly turned back to their communities or left waiting outside medical facilities, aggravating the risk of further contagion. “The enormous task of addressing Ebola has revealed persistent and profound institutional weaknesses, including in the security sector,” she said. “As the demands pile on, the police face monumental challenges in planning and implementing large scale operations.”