KIGALI, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has installed thermal cameras at some entry points at risk zones to reinforce Ebola surveillance, a health official said on Tuesday.
About 12 cameras have so far been installed at selected entry points including some border posts with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kigali International Airport, and more are to be installed, Malick Kayumba, Head of Rwanda Health Communication Center at Rwanda Biomedical Center, told Xinhua in a phone interview.
Without mentioning when exactly the Ebola screeners started to use cameras, Kayumba said about 12 cameras have so far been installed at selected entry points and the installation is still ongoing.
The cameras used for measuring temperature detect people who might have fever and can alert health officials at the entry points, he said, adding that the development helps speed up the process of screening travelers.
The government is trying to do its best to strengthen its capacity to prevent, detect and respond to Ebola, according to him.
It also recently increased the number of Ebola screeners at the borders with DRC working in shifts to screen all travellers entering the country, he said.
This week marked one year since the start of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in DRC that has already killed more than 1,700 people, making it the second worst Ebola outbreak in history.
Rwandan hospitals on Tuesday started Ebola simulation drills for front-line healthworkers to strengthen their readiness to prevent and manage Ebola in case of any outbreak in the country.
The World Health Organization last week commended Rwanda on its ongoing Ebola preparedness efforts and confirmed that no cases of Ebola have been reported from the central African country.
