Julia Nchama Abeso Avomo, the administrative attache at the Equatorial Guinea’s embassy in London, has said everyone entering the country will undergo a short medical check on arrival as a precautionary measure.
Cape Verde was the first team to arrive on Tuesday and was checked, according to the Confederation of African Football. Congo, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Republic of Congo and Ghana were to arrive on Wednesday.
“All the delegations are landing in Malabo for health checks,” according to CAF. “It was the case for Cape Verde yesterday and DR Congo today. And it will be the case for all the teams.”
Equatorial Guinea has no reported cases of Ebola.
The small, oil-rich nation in Central Africa took over as host of the tournament at short notice from Morocco, which didn’t want to stage the championship because of fears over the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and fans travelling from that region.
Ebola has claimed more than 8 000 lives, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Guinea is the only one of those three that has qualified for the African Cup.
The 16-team tournament begins on Saturday and will be played in four cities, including in the capital of Malabo and the largest city of Bata.
The final is scheduled for February 8 in Bata. – AP