UN opposes Ebola policies ‘not based on science’

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general says health workers returning from the main Ebola-hit countries “should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science.”

Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters Monday that the secretary-general also believes that “those who develop infections should be supported, not stigmatized.”

Ban’s office has said the U.N. will comply with health policies, whether they are from the U.S. government, New York state or otherwise.

But Dujarric says any quarantine restrictions “should be based on science, and they also should be based on respect.”

Dujarric also pointed out that about 450 health care workers have been infected in the outbreak and 244 have died.

The U.N. has staffers in all three of the worst-hit countries in West Africa.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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