The Federal Government is considering possible flight restrictions from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan as part of measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus into Nigeria.
The move followed a high-level strategic meeting held in Victoria Island, Lagos, on Thursday to review Nigeria’s Ebola preparedness and response framework.
Among officials present at the meeting were Jide Idris, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Akin Abayomi.
Speaking after the meeting, Gbajabiamila said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been briefed on the Ebola situation in the affected countries and assured Nigerians that the government would take necessary steps to prevent any outbreak in the country.
“We have a health scare, which is Ebola, and we all know what happened the last time. The cases are getting worse, internationally and worldwide, and we don’t want to leave anything to chance,” he said.
According to him, the government reviewed several preventive options, including possible restrictions on flights from affected countries, isolation protocols for passengers showing symptoms, and the use of cargo terminals for screening and handling travellers arriving from high-risk areas.
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“We looked at the possibility of isolating passengers who may exhibit symptoms of Ebola,” Gbajabiamila said.
“We looked at the possibility of isolating or using the cargo terminal to deal with passengers that are coming in from those areas, and of course, putting certain things in place, protocols in place; we believe that prevention is better than cure.”
Tunji-Ojo said all entry points into Nigeria would be placed under strict monitoring, adding that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) would work closely with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to strengthen early detection and emergency response measures.
The NCDC Director-General said preparedness plans had already been activated across the 36 states, while public awareness campaigns would be intensified to educate citizens on prevention and response measures.
Nigeria’s handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak was widely praised internationally after the country successfully contained the virus using an incident management strategy coordinated with support from the private sector and international partners.
Dr. died from Ebola
Late physician Ameyo Stella Adadevoh was widely credited for helping contain the outbreak after identifying and isolating Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American traveller who brought the virus into Nigeria.
The renewed concern comes as Uganda recently announced the closure of its border with the DRC in a bid to contain the spread of the disease.
