Even though it has been widely reported that Ebola is present in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, this fact didn’t stop Czech Republic medical workers from rushing a Ghanaian student to quarantine over the weekend without proof that he was infected with the virus. Now, relations between the two countries are reportedly strained, with Ghana threatening to make an official complaint about the humiliating incident.
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While there are 17 countries in West Africa, with only the aforementioned three affected, international media has consistently reported that Ebola has become the new scourge of the region.
This type of erroneous reporting may help explain the hysteria Czech officials reportedly went into when the yet-to-be-identified student was picked up by officials in hazmat suits at Prague’s main railway station Saturday night, even though he cleared airport security.
According to Joy Online, medical workers arrested the student, forced him in to a black polythene bag, and then placed him on a trolley en route to a quarantine facility.
The student ended up testing positive for the common cold.
Watch the Ghanaian student being mishandled by Czech authorities here:
The treatment of the student has prompted outrage in the Ghanaian community, with Ghana’s Prague envoy Zita Okaikwe stating that Ghana will file a formal complaint over the incident.
Ghana’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Zita Okaikoi, told Joy News the mission was “quite shocked” at the incident but added it should be a “lesson” for all West Africans.
She said the victim was arrested together with two others who were also quarantined for some time.
Meanwhile, according to Okaikwe, the student is “traumatized.”
