Local News Ebola Plan ‘being updated’ Barbados Today23/07/20190236 views With the deadly Ebola outbreak now declared a global health emergency, the Ministry of Health is reviewing and updating its Ebola Plan to ensure that authorities are able to respond effectively if the need arises, the ministry said today. The World Health Organization (WHO) on July 17 declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a public health emergency of international concern. More than 1,600 people have died since last August in the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which is unfolding in a region that has been described as a health war zone. A declaration of a global health emergency is intended to bring greater international attention and aid. But the status also comes with rising concerns that governments might overreact with border closures. The statement said Minister of Health and Wellness Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic had met with senior civil servants and officials of the Bridgetown Port, the Grantley Adams International Airport and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to review the status of preparedness. The ministry assured the public that it would continue to take steps to strengthen its level of preparedness and these measures would inform the revision of the Ebola Plan, the statement added.