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Abbott Says Partners Urging Australia to ‘Do More’ on Ebola

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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confessed on Thursday his country has been asked to step up its efforts in the fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak, pending the government's permit to send health workers to West Africa.

MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confessed on Thursday his country has been asked to step up its efforts in the fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak, pending the government's permit to send health workers to West Africa.

"Partners and allies would like us to do more," the Guardian cited Abbott as telling the Australian parliament, which has been struggling to clear teams of aid workers for the mission to help contain the spread of Ebola.

According to Abbott, the requests for help came from the United States, Britain and Sierra Leone, one of the three hardest-hit countries in West Africa.

This came after US President Barack Obama on Wednesday had a phone talk with Abbott, urging him to help more.

Australia's Labor and Green parties have been critical of the government's failure to provide assistance to West Africa fighting against the Ebola virus after it demanded that allies guarantee evacuation of its health workers if they get infected.

Speaking at the parliamentary hearing, the chief of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said progress had been made in securing an evacuation route for medical workers who might contract the lethal virus while helping Ebola patients in Africa.

Earlier this month, Australian Red Cross nurse Sue Ellen Kovack was admitted to a hospital after she developed Ebola-like symptoms following her return from Sierra Leone. The news prompted an Ebola scare in Australia, but the nurse has since tested negative for the virus.

So far, there have been at least 4,877 recorded deaths and over 9,936 people are suspected to have contracted the virus, according to the latest WHO records.

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