REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, VICTORIA FALLS -- The 15-member Southern African Development Community said Monday it will not impose travel ban on Ebola hit West African countries, as the international community taking measures against the spread of the deadly virus.

As countries around the globe step up prevention, borders of neighboring countries are closed and airlines suspend flights to the affected region, executive Secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax said they would not ban travellers from the affected area or restrict flights.

Executive Secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax told Xinhua on the sideline of the 34th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government that efforts the regional bloc has taken are meant to boost readiness of its member states, ranging north to south from Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa, west to east from Angola to Mauritius.

"We have encouraged member states first of all to be alert, secondly to put in place mechanism to be ready in case of an outbreak," Tax said. "We want people to know that it is a threat, but not a threat that prevents people from doing what they should do. Just to stay alert."

There has been not a single case of Ebola reported in the SADC region, since Ebola epidemic first broke out in Guinea in March and then spread to Sierra Leon, Liberia, and Nigeria, claiming more than 1,000 lives.

Chairperson of the SADC Council of Health Ministers and also Zimbabwean Minister of Health and Child Care David Parirenyatwa said the region's major focus at the moment is on encouraging the containment of the virus at source, here it is prevention, screening, prevention and educating people on Ebola.

Parirenyatwa said SADC health ministers have agreed that passengers at every international airport in the region should be screened to pick up people who have been to the affected countries, but member states are at different stages of implementing the policy, he said.

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