The Federal Government has activated its emergency response systems and commenced contact tracing following the detection of an imported Ebola case in the country.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, disclosed this on Wednesday after an emergency meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness at the State House.
Pate stated that health authorities are diligently tracing and isolating everyone who came into contact with the infected passenger to prevent the virus from spreading.
He explained that the government is not working alone. The Federal Government, alongside its technical partners including the World Health Organisation WHO and the Africa Centre for Disease Control has activated the incident management system across various pillars.
”Our hospital capabilities are also activated, such that we can aim to contain this case, as has been the case in other countries,” Pate said.
Most states have adequate response plans and the government is mobilizing the necessary resources to fight the outbreak.
He added that public health physicians who successfully tamed the virus in 2014 are part of the team.
Pate, however, urged citizens to respect public health directives and avoid spreading misinformation or baseless rumours that could cause unnecessary panic.
”We are confident that if we continue in this direction, we will emerge out of this crisis in a much stronger place,” he assured.
