Although Nigeria recorded two new cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) who were in secondary contacts of the index case, the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer at the weekend, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it would rest on the success Nigeria has recorded so far in halting the spread of the deadly disease.
Abdulsalami Nasidi, Project Director, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) who made this disclosure during the donation of Ford vans and electronic fuelling card by Total Nigeria Plc to the Ebola Emergency Operation Centre,(EOC) in Yaba, stated that those who were discharged after been certified Ebola-free in line with World Health Organisation protocol (WHO) are no longer a threat to the general public.
According to Nasidi, “As of now, we are able to monitor every contact or case. Out of 12 EVD cases we had, we have only two positive and three negative but we are still watching them at the moment. I can confirm we have two under treatment out of the five that were discharged. We have empowered the team and partners to ensure that the disease is contained. As of yesterday, most of the contacts are leaving and exiting the hospital. So, they are no longer threats to public health.
“The pick-up vans will enhance their movement and speed of response to investigate suspected cases of infection before isolation. I thank Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria for this kind gesture which comes at a time we are facing a national emergency on the Ebola Virus. Before now, we have had to rely on hiring taxis and deploying private vehicles with attendant impact on our activities. We will put the vehicles to good use to improve our operations.”
Nasidi however called on other corporate organisations to emulate Total by supporting the Ebola EOC in a bid to eradicate the deadly contagious virus from the country.
Alexis Vovk, managing director, Total Nigeria Plc, said that the donation was part of Total’s initiative in support of Federal Government’s effort to curb the spread of Ebola in the country.
According to Vovk, “We are pleased with the government’s swift response in managing the spread of this deadly virus. As a demonstration of our support for the Nigerian people, we are donating these five brand new vans and electronic card to enhance the operational efficiency of the Ebola EOC in order to ensure that the disease is contained. With the electronic card, the Centre can refuel the vehicles at any Total filling station nationwide.”
This development comes as every states of the Federation have been tasked to set their up their own EOCs and rapid Response Team in anticipation to halt the possible spread of the disease.
