- Following the fresh outbreak of Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Congo, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has said there is no cause for alarm
- Passengers and other airport users have been reassured of their safety
- The minister of health, Isaac Adewole, said the NCDC is currently coordinating a national working group that is assessing and managing the risk to Nigeria
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has reassured passengers and other airport users of their safety across its network of airports.
The reassurance is coming after the fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Vanguard reports.
NAIJ.com notes that this came as the minister of health, Isaac Adewole, said that the federal government was taking adequate measures to prevent a possible health disaster in the country because of the threats posed by the resurgence of Ebola disease in DRC.
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According to Adewole, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has begun the coordination of a national working group to assess and manage the risk posed by the virus in the DRC to Nigeria.
He said: “We are aware of the outbreak of Ebola in DRC following an announcement by the country on May 8, 2018. NCDC is currently coordinating a national working group that is assessing and managing the risk to Nigeria.
“We are in close communication with our partners including the World Health Organisation, who are in Congo to monitor and respond to the situation. The Port Health services unit has been placed on red-alert and will heighten screening measures at ports of entry.
“Letters of alert have also been sent to all states to enhance surveillance activities and an advisory note for the general public. Over the last few years, we have strengthened our health security infrastructure to effectively prevent, detect and respond to infectious diseases including Ebola.”
General manager, corporate affairs of the FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu, said: “We have always had thermal scanners in our airports that monitor temperature of passengers and capture their pictures. We still have hand sanitisers in our restrooms too. When passengers walk pass the scanners, it registers their temperature. If yours is high, you are pulled aside for observation.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that Ebola deadly virus, that raged in some West African countries several years ago, had staged a return in northwest part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing 17 people.
Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday, May 8, described the fresh outbreak as a “public health emergency with international impact".
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Source: Naija.ng