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New Zealand's Ministry of Health on Tuesday began a series of briefings on Ebola readiness for health sector staff in major cities, said Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.
"While the risk of Ebola entering New Zealand remains very low, it's important that we are continuously maintaining our levels of preparedness," Coleman said in a statement.
"These briefings by the Ministry of Health are part of this we are continuously following the international situation and updating our processes on the basis of the best possible scientific advice," he said.
"It is likely that at some stage a person who has recently been in an Ebola affected country in West Africa will need to be tested for the virus, but it is much more likely that they will have another illness, such as malaria."
The briefings began in New Zealand's second city of Christchurch where staff had already been training in the use of appropriate personal protective equipment and exercising their response to a person presenting themselves with Ebola-like symptoms.
The number of people coming to New Zealand from countries affected by Ebola had dropped significantly with Nigeria no longer being regarded as a country of concern.
"We were screening about one person a day at the border. This has now dropped to three in the past 13 days," said Coleman.
Since additional border screening started on Aug. 10, the total number of people identified as having been in an Ebola affected country in the previous 30 days was 76. Only three of these had required a public health risk assessment and none required laboratory testing.
Last month, government agencies met in Wellington to discuss plans to tackle the threat of the deadly Ebola virus and other infectious diseases.
The Inter-Agency Pandemic Group involved more than 20 agencies, including the New Zealand Police, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Civil Defense Emergency Management, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ministry for Primary Industries.
