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The initial fever that gripped many residents of Accra to adhere to basic hygienic practices following the outbreak of the Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) in some West African countries has virtually died down.
 
In the heat of the outbreak, the Ministry of Health asked all residents to wash their hands under running water and after that apply sanitisers.

As a result of the dreaded nature of the disease, in no time most public offices, including banks, companies, schools and universities, installed hand sanitisers in their institutions.

Homes also acquired sanitisers for their families, including children who went to school.

Second-cycle schools and universities outlined strict measures to promote personal hygiene in their institutions.

Unfortunately, most of the hand sanitiser dispensers have now become museum pieces in public offices.

With the news that the spread of the disease has been contained in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, many Ghanaians have now relegated the practice of hand washing to the background.

The only major caution that Ghanaians have maintained since the outbreak of the disease is the insistence by religious leaders that their congregations abandon handshake for waving if they have to exchange greetings during worship.

The communities have, however, not been able to abstain from handshake during funerals, one of the ways in which the disease is said to spread.

The situation has prompted the Ministry of Health to remind the public of the need to strictly adhere to sanitary measures, since Ebola is still prevalent.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, 99 new confirmed cases of Ebola were reported towards the end of last month.

Observations
When the Daily Graphic team visited some financial institutions, companies and restaurants in Accra, it found out that most sanitiser containers were empty and the workers appeared to be unconcerned.

Besides, discussions on Ebola were virtually absent, as the people did not think that it was still a pressing issue.

Interviews
Most of the people interviewed by the Daily Graphic were of the view that the Ebola fever that gripped the whole nation a few months ago had died down.

That, Mrs Elisabeth Opoku Akari, a teacher, attributed to diminishing discussions of the Ebola disease, particularly on national and public platforms.

“Now it seems the disease is going down and the fear associated with the disease has been addressed. Consequently, people seem to be more relaxed,” she added. 

A teacher of the God’s Glory Preparatory and Junior High School at Lapaz, Mr Kofi Yirenkyi, said when the news on Ebola broke, the school mounted sanitiser dispensers at strategic locations for the pupils and the members of staff.

However, he said, with news on Ebola going down now, the school had reverted to the traditional way of washing hands with water and soap.

An estate agent, Mr Francis Gankui, said discussions of Ebola had been very frequent in restaurants, bars and workplaces in the last few months.

However, now people no longer talked about the disease in restaurants or at workplaces.

 “Now if you mention Ebola, people will look at you with a sense of amazement and disinterest,” he said.

A retired public servant, Mr Loving Neequaye, said the fear that gripped the whole country when news on Ebola saturated the media landscape had fizzled out.

He said now the washing of hands with sanitiser was virtually absent.

“Only at some few places can you see the liquid; it seems the whole situation has gone down,” he said.

Ebola is still around 
The statement issued by the Ministry of Health indicated that Ebola was still around and asked the public to continue to adhere to strict sanitary measures without compromise.

“Guinea reported 35 new confirmed cases. Cases continue to arise from unknown chains of transmission. Transmission remains widespread in Sierra Leone, with 63 new confirmed cases,” it said. 

It said a sharp increase of 20 new confirmed cases in Bombali was linked to the previously reported cluster of cases in the Aberdeen fishing community of the capital, Freetown. 

“There were 14 new confirmed cases in Freetown over the same period, with cases still arising from unknown chains of transmission in Freetown and elsewhere. 

“Transmission continues at very low levels in Liberia, with one new confirmed case reported in the seven days to 22 February: a registered contact associated with a known chain of transmission in the capital, Monrovia.