London's Mayor has 'Little Doubt' that Ebola will Reach UK
As number of Ebola cases rise, London's Mayor Boris Johnson said Sunday that there is "little doubt" of the epidemic reaching the United Kingdom, even as the government "authorities are prepared for such a situation.
"I have little doubt that eventually there will be a case of Ebola in this country and probably in this city. We have fantastic preparations in London for this. We have very good health care in this city -- considerably better alas obviously than they have in Africa," the Conservative politician told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.
Recently, two nurses - working in the United States and Europe - have contracted the disease on home soil.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Johson further said that the United Kingdom is at the "risk of seeming to promise stuff that doesn't really make any sense and you can't blood test everybody coming into the country."
He believes that the temperature measures alone will not be enough to detect the disease in its early stages.
Johnson - who has been selected as the Conservative candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2015 general elections - added that the idea of screening at airports is not even close to being perfect; and because of that one or two infected ones would get through, The Independent reports.
Meanwhile, screening is to be introduced at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar terminals. During the screening, health officials said, questions about passengers' travel history and a "possible medical assessment" will be asked. This move is aimed at focussing on those who have recently been to the worst-affected West African countries - Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
