Madrid, Sep 24 (IANS/EFE) The medical committee of world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, decided Tuesday not to impose a ban on travelling to countries hit with the deadly Ebola outbreak.
However, it recommended the postponement of non-urgent FIFA seminars in those West African countries, in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.
FIFA announced that it will urgently study new ways of cooperation through soccer to combat the virus in countries hit by the outbreak.
Jiri Dvorak, special advisor to the committee, said that they will cooperate with WHO to decide on effective procedures to combat the virus.
The Ebola outbreak was first confirmed in Guinea in March and soon spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. Since the outbreak, the virus has killed at least 2,800 people in West Africa and nearly twice as many have been infected, according to the WHO. The number of cases is doubling every three weeks.
Last week, the UN Security Council passed a resolution, which declared the Ebola virus outbreak a threat to international peace and security.