Ebola: ‘Baseless Rumours’ – Tinubu Govt Intensifies Surveillance, Tells Nigerians Not To Panic

The Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats has assured Nigerians it can handle Ebola in the country.

Naija News reports that the Chairman of the Task Force and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said this while speaking to newsmen after the group’s emergency meeting at the State House on Wednesday.

Gbajabiamila said the Task Force has been working behind the scenes since it was inaugurated in June this year. He added that this is why it was easy to detect the index case discovered yesterday.

“It’s very important to note this. Since the issue of Ebola came up in June, there have been about 44, 000 flights in and out of Nigeria. So, it’s because of what the Ministry of Health, the task force and all the agencies have been doing. All hands have been on deck.

“The passenger with the disease showed no symptoms, which came four days after the woman got into Abuja, and it was the identification process and the protocols that were put in place that enabled the quick identification. That also speaks to the country’s capacity and ability to deal with this disease as best as we can,” he said.

He assured Nigerians that the Task Force would strengthen whatever needed strengthening, the protocols, and ensure more rigorous enforcement moving forward.

Gbajabiamila said: “The Task Force is on top of it. NCDC is on top of it; everyone is on deck. We must build community trust and avoid panic, but it’s also important to state clearly that this is a collaborative effort between the government and the people.”

He appealed to all Nigerians to respond to calls for compliance for the good of all.

Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, said Nigeria has competent health authorities, including private hospital operators and agencies, Immigration, Aviation, Interior, and subnational actors, who have put surveillance systems in place across the country, ready to respond.

He said: “We have been conducting contact tracing diligently and isolating those contacts of the index imported case in this country. We will continue to do that, and we want to reassure Nigerians that the federal government, alongside its technical partners, the World Health Organisation, the Africa Centre for Disease Control, and our own Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, have activated the incident management system across the various pillars.

“They are working day and night diligently, and our hospital capabilities are also activated, such that we can aim to contain this case, as has been the case in other countries, but we will not relent. Our population should respect public health directives.

“Most of our states have adequate response plans. We have the resources, and we’re mobilising those capabilities. And we’re also confident that if we continue on this path, we should be able to dent this outbreak.”

He further urged citizens to avoid misinformation while combating the virus.

The minister stated that the key for the population is to avoid “spreading misinformation or baseless rumours, which can cause unnecessary panic. The Task Force leadership has met. WHO and AfricaCDC are working closely with the team.”