Calgary health officials continue to monitor Ebola situation

In West Africa, the Ebola virus continues to devastate; health officials are warning that it could be months before the outbreak is under control.

“When you have this much disease, in so many places, it’s going to take some time to stop this,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward with the World Health Organization.

The Canadian Government has asked that any Canadians living in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to consider leaving by commercial means while they are still available.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose warned that the government may not be able to medically evacuate any Canadians if they get sick.

The risk in Canada is still considered low but officials are not taking any chances.

Effective immediately anyone entering Canada from West Africa will face a medical exam by a quarantine officer.

Deputy Chief of Calgary’s Emergency Management Agency, Tom Sampson, says that locally, officials are on alert for any suspicious cases.

The management agency is stockpiling special suits to be worn by first responders who may have come in contact with anyone with symptoms of the disease.

“We’re trying to get a couple thousand of those in town,” Sampson said. “ We want to have 40 in the airport, a couple hundred to put on the respective fire trucks that are out there and we want to have some spare.”

In Alberta, four hospitals have been designated to care for Ebola cases. They include South Health Campus, the Alberta Children’s Hospital, the University of Alberta Hospital and the Stollery in Edmonton.