Malaysia will send more than 20 million medical rubber gloves to five African nations stricken by the Ebola virus, the government said on Monday.
Malaysia, one of the world`s biggest manufacturers of the items, said it would dispatch 11 containers, each containing 1.9 million gloves, to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The prime minister is concerned about the outbreak of Ebola and the lives it has claimed,” the office of Premier Najib Razak said in a statement.
“We hope this contribution will prevent the spread of Ebola and save lives.”
Malaysian health authorities have also reportedly quarantined a Zimbabwean student in a hospital in Sarawak state on Borneo island after he sought treatment for fever Saturday.
Jerip Susil, a state public health official, was quoted by The Star as saying that the 24-year-old, who had been in contact with students from Nigeria, was not vomiting or suffering from diarrhoea but was under observation as a “precautionary measure”.
Test results are expected later this week. Jerip and other health authorities could not immediately be reached for further details.
The Ebola outbreak has ravaged West Africa, killing more than 2,400 people since it erupted earlier this year.
The hardest-hit nations are Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
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Credit: AFP