Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday night held a coordination meeting regarding the Ebola outbreak, as well as the outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) which originated in Saudi Arabia.
The meeting, led by the Coordinator of Government Activities in Judea and Samaria, Major General Yoav) Mordechai, was attended by Professor Alex Leventhal of the Ministry of Health, representatives of the PA from Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and the World Health Organization’s representative in the Palestinian Authority.
According to officials who attended the meeting, Professor Leventhal suggested cooperation with Palestinian Arab and Jordanian medical personnel, as well as other public health officials, on the Ebola issue.
On Friday, the World Health Organization said that the number of deaths from the Ebola virus worldwide has risen to 4,033, of which 2,316 were recorded in Liberia, 930 in Sierra Leone, 778 in Guinea, eight in Nigeria, and one in the U.S.
Last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called a meeting in his office to discuss how prepared Israel is for an Ebola outbreak, and what the country would do if such an event came to pass.
During the meeting, health officials presented an overview of the Ebola situation in Israel and the rest of the world. The officials also discussed ways that the virus was spread, concluding that it required direct contact with fluids from patients who already had the disease, and was not transmitted via food or through the air.
Israel's Foreign Ministry, along with other international and Israeli organizations, has decided to increase the contribution of Israeli aid to combat the spread of Ebola.