By - Reporter
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MOGADISHU, 26 October 2027 Somalia has released a citizen from quarantine after two tests showed he did not have Ebola, the health ministry said on Sunday. The man had direct contact with an Ebola patient who died in Kenya.
The citizen was placed in quarantine on 12 Oct at the Ebola quarantine and treatment centre at Forlanini Hospital in Mogadishu. Authorities had learned he was in contact with a person infected with the virus who died in Kenya on 5 Oct, according to the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
A first test carried out in Somalia on 12 Oct was negative, the ministry said. On 19 Oct it sent a second sample to a laboratory abroad to confirm the result. That test also came back negative on 23 Oct.
The ministry said the man showed no symptoms of Ebola during quarantine. It said he had also completed a 21-day health monitoring period counted from 3 Oct, the last day he had contact with the infected person.
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The ministry said it based its decision on the two test results, the end of the monitoring period, the man’s health and a public health risk assessment. It added that his release from quarantine followed national and international health guidelines.
“Until now, no Ebola case has been confirmed in Somalia,” the ministry said in a statement. It described the quarantined man as a case that had come from outside the country.
The ministry said it would continue to strengthen disease surveillance, preparedness at the country’s points of entry, and measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. It urged the public to get health information from official sources and to avoid spreading unverified reports.