Missionaries back – and in quarantine
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Three missionaries who worked with patients infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia are back in the United States and feeling upbeat after their trans-Atlantic charter flight, the head of the North Carolina-based mission hosting them said Monday.
“They were amazingly vibrant this morning when I was with them,” SIM USA President Bruce Johnson said at a news conference. “So, we’re really grateful for their health, their spirit, their attitudes.”
Although the three were examined upon their arrival in Charlotte and determined to be healthy, they are being held in quarantine at least three weeks dating from the time the missionaries were last exposed to people infected with the virus. For now, their quarters will be five motor homes anchored in the mission’s RV park on its wooded 90-acre campus not far from the South Carolina line.
Ukraine OKs aid mission to east
DONETSK, Ukraine – Ukrainian forces on Monday zeroed in on rebel strongholds as the government welcomed an international humanitarian relief mission into the rebellious east involving Russia, the United States and the European Union.
The mission will be conducted under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The organization said in a statement it is ready to facilitate the operation with the involvement of all sides concerned following a Russian initiative to provide humanitarian assistance to people in eastern Ukraine.
It wasn’t clear when the deliveries would start.
Moscow had long urged Kiev to allow the aid delivery, but Ukraine and the West previously had opposed the move, fearing it could serve as a pretext for sending Russian troops into rebel-held territory. Ukraine and the West have accused Moscow of arming and supporting the rebels fighting government troops in the east, a charge the Kremlin has denied.
Associated Press
