UK relaxes Ebola screening measures

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33635574

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The screening measures put into place to prevent Ebola arriving in the UK are being relaxed.

Public Health England said there will no longer be specialist staff based at Birmingham and Manchester airports or at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras.

It said the threat was now "significantly lower" as the situation improved in West Africa.

The measures at Heathrow and Gatwick, the two main routes of entry from the affected countries, remain in place.

There were just 26 new cases of Ebola reported in West Africa last week. At the peak of the outbreak there were more than 1,000 cases each week.

Health officials introduced extra checks at major routes into the UK for people arriving from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

Temperatures were taken and people were asked to complete a questionnaire to establish whether they had been in contact with anyone infected with the disease.

People were also told what to do if they developed symptoms.

Phone screening

However, people arriving in Birmingham, Manchester airports and at St Pancras station will now be screened over the phone.

All health workers returning to the UK will continue to be screened and monitored until the Ebola outbreak is over.

Prof Paul Cosford, from Public Health England, said: "The risk of Ebola transmission to the UK from West Africa is now significantly lower than when the screening arrangements were originally implemented.

"The risk of further Ebola cases being imported to the UK is now very low and continues to decrease due to the considerable decline in the scale of the epidemic in West Africa, the efforts of the global response to control the virus' spread, the control measures in place in West Africa and the low number of people entering the UK from affected areas."