An Ebola Virus Treatment Center In Monrovia
A man stands at the gate of an Ebola virus treatment center in Monrovia September 21, 2014. Reuters

Australian aid workers in West Africa will have no way out in case they get infected with Ebola. According to Health Minister Peter Dutton, Australian health workers who will contract the virus while treating Ebola patients would not survive the 30-hour flight back. Dutton defended the Abbott government refusal to deploy doctors and nurses to help fight Ebola.

The Australian Labour Party has supported calls for the government to follow the U.S., UK and France in sending personnel in West Africa. Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said financial aid is no longer enough and Australia "must do better."

Reports said Dutton reiterated that sending troops or healthcare workers would be risky since there would no way for them to evacuate. Binding agreements with the U.S., UK or Germany have yet to be finalised to take any of the people possibly infected with the deadly virus.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott had earlier said it would be irresponsible for the Australian government to order the country's doctors and nurses to West Africa where there are no effective risk-mitigation strategies in place. He added that there was no way for Australia to send personnel at the moment.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Health Minister Jonathan Coleman inspected the country's hospitals and ensured that special containment units are in place to deal with possible cases of Ebola. The New Zealand Herald reports that the biocontainment unit at the Middlemore Hospital was put up in August. It is one of the biocontainment units in New Zealand as the rest are in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington hospitals.

Dr Coleman said New Zealand needs to be prepared in the event of an Ebola outbreak. He added that the isolation units are configured to meet international standards. While it was possible that New Zealand might have to deal with an Ebola case, he believes there was only a low probability.

New Zealand Customs have previously screened 66 people for Ebola. The government has also implemented additional border checks in August as an extra precaution. The Ministry of Health said the agency was learning lessons from reports overseas.