19th August, 2014
The Confederation of African Football has said that World Health Organization (WHO) “does not recommend a ban on travel to and from affected countries.”
CAF affirmed this position following advice from the WHO which provided guidance on attitude’s the continental soccer governing body would observe in the management of CAF competitions scheduled to take place in countries affected by the epidemic — Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
In a circular dated 12 August 2014 the Secretary General of CAF, Hicham El Amrani, called upon member associations to relay accurate information about the mode of transmission of Ebola, its symptoms, and precautions persons needed to take against the disease.
CAF advised member associations to undertake Ebola screening protocols at departure and arrival points and directed Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone to organise their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches on neutral territory based on recommendations of WHO.
Based on the WHO recommendation that countries should “not impose any ban on international travel or trade”, Morocco has followed in adopting the recommendations by accepting to host Guinea for its match against Togo on 5 September on the first day of the group stage qualifiers of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015.
It is therefore important to emphasise Dr. Isabelle Nuttall, director global capabilities, alert and recalls statement that: “Unlike the influenza virus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, for example, the Ebola virus is not carried by the air. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids of a sick person. In the unlikely event that a passenger would present the Ebola virus disease, the probability that the other passengers and crew have contact with body fluids is even lower. Generally, the state of a patient Ebola is such that he cannot travel. “