CosmicNoodle
October 8th, 2014, 11:37 AM
I often poke fun at 'Murica for always sending troops into places all the time, but now the UK has gone and done it.
Here is das story:
The UK is sending 750 military personnel to Sierra Leone to help deal with the deadly Ebola outbreak, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed.
He said the UK would also send a medical ship, the RFA Argus, and three Merlin helicopters.
Confirming the measures, Mr Hammond said: "We all have to do more if we are going to prevent what is currently a crisis from becoming a catastrophe."
More than 3,400 people have died in the outbreak, mostly in West Africa.
In Sierra Leone the death toll is at least 678. Save the Children has reported the rate of infection is rapidly increasing there, with five new cases every hour.
There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which has so far infected more than 7,200 people.
It comes as:
- A Texas hospital says the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the US, Eric Duncan, has died
- The US Department of Homeland Security orders agents at airports and other ports to "observe" arrivals for potential signs of Ebola
- Further details emerge about the case of a Spanish nurse infected with Ebola - the first person known to have contracted the virus outside West Africa
- Downing Street said plans for protecting the UK against Ebola were discussed at a Cobra meeting, although the risk remains "low"
- Planning will now include a "national exercise and wider resilience training to ensure the UK is fully prepared"
- Public Health England repeats there are no plans to introduce screening for those arriving in the UK
- A meeting to discuss how prepared Scotland is for the virus is to be chaired by First Minister Alex Salmond
Mr Hammond, speaking at a press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State John Kerry, said military and civilian teams were already in Sierra Leone, working on constructing five new Ebola treatment facilities with 700 beds.
He said that at a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee in London - which he joined via video link - the decision was made to deploy the RFA Argus to Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, along with the three helicopters.
Mr Hammond said trials of a new primary care triage system for those with early stage symptoms of Ebola was also taking place.
He said: "This disease is an unprecedented threat that knows no borders. We have to get ahead of this disease. If we get ahead of it and rise to the challenge, we can contain it and beat it."
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus
He said the UK had committed more than $200m to the programme in Sierra Leone.
And he urged other countries to commit not only money but more resources, including medical personnel, to efforts to combat the virus.
Downing Street said the 750 troops included:
- 250 for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus to take and support three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport support to medical teams and aid experts
- More than 200 to run and staff a World Health Organization-led Ebola training facility 300 making up the existing UK taskforce, focusing on delivering support to the Sierra Leone government
- Forty British military engineers have already travelled to the country to set up the facilities.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said 100 troops had been due to travel to the country next week but they will now be joined by hundreds more.
"It shows Britain is clearly worried about this and is ramping up its efforts in the same way the US has done," said our correspondent.
US troops
Three hundred American troops have been deployed to neighbouring Liberia, also badly affected by the Ebola outbreak, to set up field hospitals.
About 3,000 more US soldiers are due to arrive there in the coming days to help with logistical support and training for health workers.
In the US, the Department of Homeland Security said passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea would have their temperatures taken and have to answer questions, according to Reuters news agency.
But Public Health England said there were still no plans to follow suit.
In the case of the Spanish nurse, a doctor in Madrid has said Teresa Romero remembers touching her face with her gloves after treating a dying priest.
A World Health Organization adviser earlier warned that more cases could be expected among medical staff, even in developed countries.
Here is das story:
The UK is sending 750 military personnel to Sierra Leone to help deal with the deadly Ebola outbreak, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed.
He said the UK would also send a medical ship, the RFA Argus, and three Merlin helicopters.
Confirming the measures, Mr Hammond said: "We all have to do more if we are going to prevent what is currently a crisis from becoming a catastrophe."
More than 3,400 people have died in the outbreak, mostly in West Africa.
In Sierra Leone the death toll is at least 678. Save the Children has reported the rate of infection is rapidly increasing there, with five new cases every hour.
There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which has so far infected more than 7,200 people.
It comes as:
- A Texas hospital says the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the US, Eric Duncan, has died
- The US Department of Homeland Security orders agents at airports and other ports to "observe" arrivals for potential signs of Ebola
- Further details emerge about the case of a Spanish nurse infected with Ebola - the first person known to have contracted the virus outside West Africa
- Downing Street said plans for protecting the UK against Ebola were discussed at a Cobra meeting, although the risk remains "low"
- Planning will now include a "national exercise and wider resilience training to ensure the UK is fully prepared"
- Public Health England repeats there are no plans to introduce screening for those arriving in the UK
- A meeting to discuss how prepared Scotland is for the virus is to be chaired by First Minister Alex Salmond
Mr Hammond, speaking at a press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State John Kerry, said military and civilian teams were already in Sierra Leone, working on constructing five new Ebola treatment facilities with 700 beds.
He said that at a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee in London - which he joined via video link - the decision was made to deploy the RFA Argus to Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, along with the three helicopters.
Mr Hammond said trials of a new primary care triage system for those with early stage symptoms of Ebola was also taking place.
He said: "This disease is an unprecedented threat that knows no borders. We have to get ahead of this disease. If we get ahead of it and rise to the challenge, we can contain it and beat it."
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus
He said the UK had committed more than $200m to the programme in Sierra Leone.
And he urged other countries to commit not only money but more resources, including medical personnel, to efforts to combat the virus.
Downing Street said the 750 troops included:
- 250 for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus to take and support three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport support to medical teams and aid experts
- More than 200 to run and staff a World Health Organization-led Ebola training facility 300 making up the existing UK taskforce, focusing on delivering support to the Sierra Leone government
- Forty British military engineers have already travelled to the country to set up the facilities.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said 100 troops had been due to travel to the country next week but they will now be joined by hundreds more.
"It shows Britain is clearly worried about this and is ramping up its efforts in the same way the US has done," said our correspondent.
US troops
Three hundred American troops have been deployed to neighbouring Liberia, also badly affected by the Ebola outbreak, to set up field hospitals.
About 3,000 more US soldiers are due to arrive there in the coming days to help with logistical support and training for health workers.
In the US, the Department of Homeland Security said passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea would have their temperatures taken and have to answer questions, according to Reuters news agency.
But Public Health England said there were still no plans to follow suit.
In the case of the Spanish nurse, a doctor in Madrid has said Teresa Romero remembers touching her face with her gloves after treating a dying priest.
A World Health Organization adviser earlier warned that more cases could be expected among medical staff, even in developed countries.